Sonic Brawl: Twilight Emperor
by The Brawler
Summary: Strange, neon creatures are appearing, robots are planting bombs to wipe out the world and at the centre of it all, a black comet is circling the globe. Only the heroes of this world can stop the Twilight Emperor! A Brawler/Babylon Sky Hawk joint story.
1. Midair Stadium Part 1

In this world, trophies fight. They know nothing but fighting. Fighting is the sole reason for their existence. Being turned back into a trophy, being unable to fight, is much like death. Those are the rules of this world. But... when someone… or something breaks those rules, the world will pay a terrible price.

**Sonic Brawl: Twilight Emperor**

Chapter 1

The scene opens up to a stadium that was hovering hundreds of feet above the ground. It was a simple square shape with stands for the audience to sit in. The arena that floated in the middle was blue and at the back was a giant screen. While the crowd was trembling with anticipation, two figures stood above them on their own platform.

The one on the left was a purple cat with her hair tied in a ponytail that stood up. She wore a purple cloak with gold lining round the neck and magenta lining at the bottom, red high heels and white gloves with frizzy parts around the wrists. She also had a red jewel in her forehead.

Next to her was a pink hedgehog who was slightly younger. She wore a red dress that curved outwards as it reached her waist. She also wore white gloves with gold bracelets and red shores with white lines down the centre. She also had three bangs and a red headband.

"Oh, I can't wait for this!" the pink hedgehog cried with somewhat anticipation.

Her feline companion nodded silently. The hedgehog seemed to notice this.

"You're thinking of him again, aren't you Blaze?"

The cat, now identified as Blaze nodded again. "It's just, I haven't heard from him in ages. I just wish he'd send me a message or something" she sighed.

The hedgehog patted Blaze on the back. "Cheer up. I'm sure Silver can handle himself" she told Blaze.

The cat smiled at the reassurance. "Thanks Amy. You always know what to say."

The hedgehog, now known as Amy, smiled back but then her attention was taken to something else. Her eyes widened and she screamed in glee, causing Blaze to recoil.

"IT'S HIM!" Amy yelled.

What she was getting worked up about was a trophy falling into the arena. It depicted a teenage blue hedgehog white gloves and red sneakers. The base of the trophy flashed as soon as it landed, the light going all the way up, brining the hedgehog to life. Once it was finished, the hedgehog stretched out and took a fighting position.

"SONIC!!!"

The hedgehog called Sonic turned to the voice and saw Amy. He gave her the thumbs up and winked at the same time, causing the lovestruck hedgehog to swoon. Blaze sweatdropped and called out to Sonic.

"Try not to lose! Otherwise she won't be a happy hedgehog!"

Sonic smirked. "Don't worry, Blaze!" he called back. "He won't stand a chance!"

Suddenly, another trophy landed opposite Sonic. This one was depicting another blue hedgehog, only this one was taller and more robotic. His quills stuck out sharply and he had a white stripe down the middle of his head. He had sharp claws, red elf like shoes and a black cloak. As the trophy came to life, the robot gave a cold stare to his opponent.

"Sonic the Hedgehog" he acknowledged.

"Metal Sonic" the blue hog replied. "This rivalry ends here!"

"You're right. It will end here. With me defeating you!" Metal Sonic roared.

Metal lunged at his opponent but Sonic easily jumped over him. Metal quickly turned around and fired a bolt of electricity. Sonic dodged it too but Metal was beginning to fire several more at him. The blue hero began to run around the arena at the speed of sound. Normally, it would be impossible to catch him, but Metal wasn't normal. He fired another bolt of lightning at a random spot and, by some chance; Sonic was thrown through the air. He nearly went over the edge of the arena but grabbed onto the edge.

Metal made a dive for him but Sonic quickly got back up and curved into a ball, spinning into the robot's gut. Metal was knocked back giving Sonic the chance to jump into the air and home into him. He spun down into Metal's stomach, inflicting as much damage as he could, but Metal grabbed hold of the spinning ball and threw it across the ground. It bounced a number of times before uncurling.

Sonic, with a cocky smile on his face, dashed at Metal, who did the same. The two crashed into each other, deadlocked and struggling against it each other.

"I swear, I won't lose!" Metal growled.

"Likewise!" replied Sonic. The two then backflipped away from each other before charging again.

* * *

Meanwhile, nearby was a floating island. It was a mixture of ancient architecture and unknown technology. It was also dotted with racetracks. This was known as Babylon Garden, home of the ancient Babylon Rogues, a band of thieves that went back for generations. Right now, someone was on the floating paradise but it wasn't a thief.

She was a dark-yellow mongoose with shoulder length amethyst hair. She wore a thickening black top with green strips on the shoulders, dirt-brown hiking boots, a pair of teal elbow-length gloves and green boots with yellow laces.

"Boy, this place really is as strange as they say" the mongoose said to herself. "Still, it is a nice change from the cities."

The girl stood at the edge of the garden, admiring the view when she spotted the stadium. It was only a speck in the distance but the mongoose could just make it out.

"Wonder what that is?" she thought.

* * *

Back at the arena, Sonic and Metal were beginning to exchange punches. Both were getting tired from the fight but neither was backing down. Metal backed off so he could swipe out with his claw but Sonic leaned back to avoid it. He rolled back and charged at Metal with amazing speed, sending a kick straight to the face. Metal was sent flying back, over the side but he managed to recover and he landed back on the arena. But Sonic was already charging at him. Metal stood his ground as the blue hedgehog ran into him. Metal only staggered and grabbed his opponent by the neck.

"I told you I'd win" he sneered as Sonic gasped for air. The robot turned round and threw Sonic over the edge. The crowd gasped as Sonic fell. But he had a sly grin on his face. He began to spin in the air and homed in on Metal. He was taken aback that he was unprepared for the spin into the face. As he recoiled from the hit, Sonic landed behind him and kicked him off the arena. Metal tried to get back up but Sonic was already above him and sent his heel into Metal's head, sending him down. There was a flash of blue and Metal reappeared as a trophy.

The crowd began to cheer for Sonic's victory, chanting his name. Amy was the loudest, causing Blaze to stick her fingers in her ears. Sonic couldn't help but snigger before looking at the lifeless trophy. Feeling sympathetic, he touched the base and in a flash of light, Metal was standing, holding his head.

"Good fight" said Sonic, extending his hand. But Metal ignored it and strode off.

"Until next time we meet, you better be prepared" he said, darkly.

Sonic sighed at his rival's stubbornness. He was about to leave too until someone cried, "Hey, what's that in the sky?"

Sonic looked and saw the clouds turning red and blocking out the sun as a huge, black rock appeared, floating above the arena. Metal stopped to see what was going on and he too was shocked.

"What is that?" he asked but Sonic gave no reply. He was getting anxious. Then, strange purple spheres fell from the base of the rock and as soon as they touched solid ground, weird, neon-blue creatures emerged from the ground. Some were medium size and had stretchy arms while some were smaller, spherical and hovered in the air. The two rivals immediately took battle positions.

Amy and Blaze had seen the creatures as well and gasped in horror.

"Come on!" cried Blaze over the panic emanating from the crowd. "We've got to help them!"

Blaze quickly jumped from the platform, her hands alit with flame. Amy followed suit, holding a giant hammer. Both Sonic and Metal were surprised by their appearance.

"Amy! Get to safety, this is dangerous!" exclaimed Sonic, clearly worried about her.

Amy frowned. "I'll be fine, Sonic!"

Sonic knew not to argue but he turned to Blaze and said "If you get hurt, Silver will kill me!"

Blaze shrugged. "No skin off my teeth."

Sonic sighed before regaining his battle position.

"OK, guys, whatever these things are, they're dangerous" he said.

Metal growled, "What are we waiting for, then? Let's do it!"

The four heroes took up stances before charging into battle.

**Author's note: I hope this is a good start. I'd like to say that this is a joint project between me and Babylon Sky Hawk, who came up with the title, cast list and several locations. I'd like to thank him for that and I hope he enjoyed this. Read and review!**


	2. Midair Stadium Part 2

**Long chapter today! R&R!**

Chapter 2

The four heroes stood their ground as the monsters approached them. The beings had no expressions and slowly advanced towards the figures who stood in there way.

Sonic, feeling he should step forward, asked "Just who or what are you? And what are you up to?"

A monster at the front replied with "We answer only to the Twilight Emperor."

"Twilight Emperor? Who's he?" Sonic questioned.

"We answer only to the Twilight Emperor" the monster repeated.

"Don't bother trying to communicate with them, Sonic!" Metal said. "Let's just get rid of them!"

Sonic nodded and threw himself into the thick of battle. He curled up into a ball and sped through the group at the front, knocking them into the air. He skidded to a stop and saw them plummet. They faded away into the same purple spheres that they originated from. He quickly turned round to see another neon blue creature charging at him. He jumped and used his Homing Attack on it, instantly killing it. Whatever these things were, they were weak. Another one swept out with its arms, barely missing the speedy hog. Sonic grabbed the arms, stretched them back and let go, sending the monster flying into another one. He smirked but was unaware of another one that had jumped in the air and was preparing to flatten him. Somehow, he turned round to see it coming and rolled out of the way, before kicking it in the face, causing it to stagger. He then jumped in the air and performed a spinning kick, repeatedly slamming his foot into the monster's head. He finished it off by spinning into its back. With another one down, he rushed off to fight some more.

* * *

Metal was surrounded by a whole bunch of the neon creatures but wasn't the bit intimidated. In fact, he began to mock them by fake yawning. Enraged, all the monsters charged at him but Metal jumped in the air, allowing them to crash into each other. As they were dazed, Metal flipped in the air to gain extra height before sending a huge bolt of lightning down onto the group. The monsters were electrocuted on the spot, effecting anymore that came near. Metal landed as they faded away, feeling quite smug. However, it was gone when another one jumped him and began to snap at him. Metal managed to push it off and clawed it across the stomach. He then swung out with his foot to kill one that was coming from behind. He saw another one coming from the side so he threw another bolt of lightning at it, instantly killing it. Two more attempted an attack. One threw one of its stretchy arms at the robot, getting him in the face. The monster continuously slapped him, irritating Metal. Before it could strike again, Metal grabbed its arm but was slammed into the ground by the one that came from behind. Metal jumped back up before it could attack. As he flipped through the air, he realised he still had a hold of the first ones arm. He landed behind the first one and released it. It slammed into the second one before coming back to hit the owner. Metal couldn't help but chortle before becoming engaged with another one.

* * *

Blaze was busy finishing one off by kicking it in the stomach when a floating, blue sphere with black markings rammed into her. Angered, she threw fireballs at the miniature enemy but it constantly dodged it. Blaze's cat-like instincts then kicked in and she pounced, pinning the small enemy to the ground. Before she could kill it, she noticed two of the medium ones coming at her. Quickly thinking, she picked the small one up, engulfed it in fire and threw it at one, setting it on fire. Both were killed instantly. The second one was still staring at the burning remains before it noticed the purple cat was right in front of it. Before it could attack, Blaze had kicked straight up, knocking it into the air. As it flipped through the air, Amy appeared out of nowhere and slammed it back to earth with her hammer. The two girls hi-fived before realising more were coming at them. Blaze seemed to get an idea because she began to whisper in Amy's head. The pink hedgehog nodded and prepared her hammer. The smaller ones began to try ramming into the girls but Amy was knocking them back with her hammer. Some were lucky enough to hit the medium sized ones that were getting closer. After a couple of minutes, the smaller ones were gone but the medium ones were getting dangerously close. But Amy had a smile on her face. Stepping to the side, she revealed that Blaze had been building up power in her hands so that the flames were huge. You could almost hear the monsters gulp. Blaze melded the two pillars of flame together before throwing them forward, sending a torrent of fire at the remaining creatures, instantly taking them out.

* * *

The four heroes regrouped in the centre of the arena.

"Heh, those creatures weren't so tough" Sonic said.

"Never underestimate your opponents, Sonic" Metal told him. "For all we know, there are probably more of them."

Blaze nodded. "He's right. And whatever they are, they seem to originate from that!" She pointed to the huge black rock in the sky.

"It looks like a comet" said Amy. "A black comet."

Sonic stared at her. "Black comet?"

Amy nodded, still looking at it until she noticed something was floating down towards them. A limbless figure wearing a green and red cloak with two red arrow shaped ornaments, a blue pendant and yellow eyes floated down towards them on a silver platform. Hanging from said platform was a silver sphere with a red cross on it.

"Who are you?" questioned Metal.

The figure seemed to hesitate for a second before answering. "I am called the Ancient Minister."

"Well, Ancient Minister, what's going on here?" asked Sonic.

"I will explain. I am a commander of the Twilight Army. The rock you see above you is the flagship, the Black Comet, where we spread our forces. Those creatures you saw are called Dark Gaia Spawn. The bigger ones are the main foot soldiers, the Nightmares. We plan to destroy your world and anyone who stands in the way" the Ancient Minister explained in a deep robotic voice.

Sonic smirked. "Well, good luck with that. Don't you know your facts? Heroes always win."

"Not this time" the Ancient Minister said, dropping the object with a thud. Then, out of nowhere, two orange robots appeared. They were quite round with pointed noses, black lower bodies and cheesy smiles.

"These are my Egg Pawns" the floating figure explained upon seeing the heroes' confused looks. "They activate the Twilight Bombs."

"BOMBS?!" the heroes cried. For an answer, the pawns stood on either side of the object and placed their hands into the sockets that were placed on each side. They pulled it open to reveal a small, blue sphere of energy in the centre. Underneath that was a timer, which was counting down!

"Once the bomb goes off, this area will be ripped from this world and become part of the Twilight Cage, taking you with it. Farewell" the cloaked figure said, before retreating to the already leaving Black Comet.

"Quick! We have to shut that bomb down!" yelled Sonic, already running towards it. But before he was within reach, he heard a strange noise that grabbed his and the other three's attention. A cloud of smoke had appeared suddenly, concealing something but Metal already saw it coming.

"SONIC! LOOK OUT!!!" he yelled but it was too late. A ball with yellow spikes on it flew out of the smoke and slammed into the blue hero. With a cry of pain, he was thrown into the air, disappearing into the horizon. Metal stared at where Sonic vanished in shock until the screams of Blaze and Amy caught his attention.

The cat and hedgehog were being held in a cage that was in the hand of a larger version of an Egg Pawn. It had a more vicious look with sharper teeth, red armour, grey feet and a spiked ball instead of a right hand. No doubt this was the robot that attacked Sonic.

"Metal! Help us!" screamed Blaze, over the sounds of the robot (who we'll call the Egg Berserker) and Amy's crying over Sonic's disappearance.

The Sonic look-a-like sighed. "Fine. Bring it on, scrap heap!"

The Egg Berserker raised its weapon and slammed it down; causing a shockwave that sent Metal flying. He picked himself up in time to avoid the robot jumping on him. He fired a bolt of electricity at the back of the robot but, to his horror, it did nothing. The machine rotated and fired its spiked ball which was hanging on a wire. Metal jumped out of the way to avoid being skewered. The berserker recalled it and jumped and slammed it down near where Metal was standing, knocking him back again. Metal quickly got back up again and made an attempt to scratch at the armour. But like before, nothing.

Great, I can't hurt it in anyway. How am I supposed to destroy it, he thought angrily. He backflipped away from a pair of yellow lasers that were shot out from the eyes while trying to think of a plan. He then laid his eyes on the cage holding the two girls. That's it!

He ran straight at the robot, making it think he was going for another assault. It raised its weapon and slammed it down but Metal jumped over it and ran up along its arm. He then made his way towards the left arm and began to try and pull the bars of the cage apart.

"Hold on, girls!" he yelled.

Amy, however, saw something. "Metal!"

Metal had just managed to make a large enough space for the girls to escape through when he saw the Berserker raise its spiked ball, intent on crushing them. Without thinking, Metal jumped and clung onto the front of the machine. It then made a change in course and directed it's ball to where Metal was. But that was the plan. Metal then jumped off just before it hit, letting the robot pierce itself. Metal landed on the cage and was about to help the girls out until he noticed that the robot was shaking violently.

"It's gonna blow!" he yelled, grabbing Amy, who was nearest and throwing her out. He grabbed Blaze and was about to jump off with her when the robot exploded.

Metal was thrown forward but fortunately landed on his feet next to Amy.

"Where's Blaze?" Amy asked, grabbing the robot and shaking him.

"Is this you're way of saying thanks?" Metal responded, sarcastically.

Amy was getting peeved. "No jokes, copy! Where is she?" she repeated.

"She must've landed on the other side" suggested Metal. "Come on. He turned round and was about to take off when he heard someone yell "Not so fast!"

Out of nowhere, another figure landed in front of them. He was a tall, green hedgehog with six contour quills and three scars across his chest. He was wearing a long, black coat with silver lines along the spine, white gloves, blue and white boots, a silvery-white belt and a rope bracelet on his right wrist. He was holding an odd looking black weapon with a purple circle on each side with jagged purple lines coming off them. It had two black handles that the hedgehog held onto and a thinner part at the front.

"I'm afraid you guys won't be going anywhere!" the hedgehog said maliciously.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Metal.

The hedgehog seemed to take a prideful position. "Scourge the Hedgehog, elite member of the Twilight Emperor!"

Amy immediately frowned at the green hog. "So you're one of the bad guys!"

"Correct" Scourge replied. "And I bet you're wondering what this is". He pointed at the weapon he was holding. "It's called a Dark Cannon. It hasn't been tested yet but…"

Scourge's eyes were then directed behind him. Next to the remains of the Egg Berserker, Blaze was pushing some wreckage off of her when she noticed Scourge and gasped.

"I think now's the perfect time!" Scourge finished, charging up the weapon. A yellow light filled the front bit as the purple spheres and lines began to glow. Eventually, a black arrow was shot out of the cannon, travelling along the ground until it hit Blaze square in the chest. A light blinded everyone whilst Blaze screamed. As the light died down, Blaze's trophy was all that remained.

While Metal and Amy stood wide eyed at what happened, Scourge approached the trophy, looking pleased. "Well, how about that, eh? It does work! That doctor guy is gonna be pleased."

Scourge picked Blaze u before turning to the two hedgehogs. "Well, it's been fun but I gotta go. See ya!" he laughed as he jumped into the air and vanished.

"We have to catch him!" Amy screamed.

Metal seemed hesitant. "But what about the…" he began to ask until he noticed that the bomb was close to exploding. "Alright. Hang on!"

The robot grabbed Amy before activating his boosters. Soon, the two were in the air, quickly escaping from the stadium. Just after they left, the bomb went off, sucking up the whole stadium in an orb of blue. As Metal focused on his trajectory, Amy stared sadly at the orb.

**By the way, the version of Scourge you saw was property of Babylon Sky Hawk. Don't forget to read and review!**


	3. Babylon Garden Part 1

Chapter 3

The scene opens up to Babylon Garden. The mongoose girl stared in horror as she saw the stadium become engulfed in the blue sphere.

"I don't know what that was but I know it ain't good!" she exclaimed. She then noticed a small speck flying away from it. All she could make out was a bit of metallic blue carrying a pink thing.

"I think it's high time I copy those guys and get outta here!" she cried. Turning tail, she began to make her way back to the other side of the garden. However, she had only stepped a couple of feet when she heard something. Turning, the mongoose saw the Black Comet ascending through the clouds until it was beginning to float above her. She stared with awe, unaware of the purple spheres it was dropping. It was only when they began to take form of the Nightmares that she noticed she was surrounded.

"Oh, so you want to play, huh? Fine!" The mongoose made a dash at the nearest one, slamming her heel into it. It was knocked across the ground but it got back up and threw a punch. But the mongoose was fast and jumped over it, allowing the Nightmare to hit one of its comrades. The two enraged monsters both charged at the mongoose who simply stood there. Both of them jumped but the girl fell on her back and kicked up, sending the monsters into the air. As they fell back down, she stood to the side and let them crash into the floor. They then dispersed as purple spheres.

"Heh. This is too easy" she mocked until she realised more of them were approaching. She sighed and took a fighting position. One made a jump but she slid under the attack and swiftly turned round, kicking the monster in the back. Another one came from behind and grabbed her but her arms were free and she slammed her fist into its face, causing it to lose grip so she could punch it in the gut, sending it into one of its comrades.

One Nightmare tried swinging its hands back and slam the girl between them but she easily flipped through the air to avoid it. She landed on its head and covered its eyes, preventing it from seeing. It began to shake itself, trying to throw the mongoose off.

"Woah, steady!" she yelled. "Sheesh, what are you? A rodeo bull?"

The Nightmare wasn't listening and was swinging its arms as the girl held on. The attacks ended up destroying a few of the other monsters but one jumped over them and attempted to slam itself on the mongoose. She saw it coming though and avoided the attack. The Nightmare she was riding wasn't as lucky. It was crushed by its partner. The mongoose couldn't help but snicker.

"You know, you're not very bright for… That's a point? What are you?" she asked.

"We are Nightmares and we serve the Twilight Emperor" the monster answered.

"The what-now?" the girl asked again but the monster wasn't listening. It raised its arms and more purple spheres into its body. Suddenly, to the mongoose's horror, the Nightmare's body began to change shape. It got taller and muscular. Its eyes became one big red one in the middle of its face. Its skin had gotten darker and it was now carrying a huge, wooden club. It was now a Titan.

"Just my luck" the mongoose cursed under her breath. The newly formed Titan let out a roar as it stomped, causing a shockwave that threw the mongoose across the ground. She wound up rolling off the track itself and into a forest-like area. Upon seeing where she was, she smirked.

"Guess my luck changed" she said to herself.

Upon hearing the sound of the Titan lumbering towards her, she quickly got up and placed her hand on a nearby tree. The monster slammed its club on her but; somehow, the girl formed some sort of armour that blocked the attack. However, she was still shaken by the hit and couldn't defend herself from the swipe the Titan made at her, knocking her away, as well as tearing down a few trees. The mongoose's armour vanished and she stared with horror as it began to lumber towards her. She quickly realised it was still standing on a patch of grass. She knew it was risky but it was all she had. She began to focus, trying to block out the Titan's roars.

Then, small weeds appeared from the grass, getting longer until they began to wrap around the monster's arms. It tried to fight it but they were getting tighter. More began to ensnare its legs so it couldn't walk either. Sighing with relief, the mongoose picked herself up.

"Now that that's done, I need to finish this thing off quick. Those things won't hold for long" she said to herself. And she was right. Already the weeds were getting thin from the monster's attempts of freeing itself. She was about to perform one last attack when something caught her eye.

Something small appeared in the air. She couldn't make out what it was until it got bigger. She then realised that it wasn't getting bigger but closer. Panicking, she rolled to the side to avoid the thing crashing into her. She looked at what it was and was met with a surprise. It was a trophy, depicting a blue hedgehog. She approached it slowly, not entirely sure what it was.

Who's this guy? she thought, staring at it. He's kinda cute. She smiled to herself but it disappeared when she heard the sound of snapping. Turning, she saw the Titan had freed itself and was advancing. As she backed away, she inadvertently touched the base. That's when the burst of light came out.

It blinded both mongoose and monster and when it vanished; Sonic was standing up, holding his head.

"Uh, where am I?" he asked no one but when he looked up and saw the Titan, he said "Uh, can't give a guy directions, can ya?"

The monster, unfazed by the newcomer's appearance, slammed its club down on where the blue hero was standing. The mongoose, who was standing nearby, gasped, thinking he had been crushed when she heard a whistle. The Titan turned round and saw Sonic standing there, tapping his foot.

"I'm waaaaaiiiiiting" he mocked, angering the monster. It roared, making another attempt at crushing Sonic but, with a cocky smile on his face, began to run circles round the beast. The mongoose was stunned at how fast he was going. All he left were traces of blue and was causing the wind to blow in her face. The Titan was getting confused as well, and was unaware of Sonic running up its back, flying up into the air and spinning into its head. The Titan reeled back towards the edge, roaring in pain as Sonic landed.

"Aw, is the big, bad monster hurt? Don't worry. I'll make the pain go away!" Sonic shouted, spinning on the spot before shooting off into the monster's legs, thus causing it to lose balance. The Titan was teetering at the edge until Sonic simply flicked it, causing it to fall over the edge.

Dusting his hands off, he said "Done and done." He then became aware of the mongoose's presence.

"Hey there. Who are you?" the hedgehog asked.

The girl was so dumbstruck; it took her a while to answer. "Um, I'm Mina. Mina the Mongoose."

"I see. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Do you know where I am?"

"You're on Babylon Garden" Mina answered. Sonic's eyes widened.

"Babylon Garden? But that means…" He ran to the edge and looked out, resting his eyes on where the Midair Stadium was.

"NO! Amy, Metal and Blaze were still on there! The bomb must've gone off!" Sonic cried in anguish.

Mina was confused and asked "What are you jabbering about?"

Sonic then explained what happened at the stadium, leaving no detail out. He talked about the Nightmares, the Ancient Minister and the Twilight Bomb.

"And the last thing I remember was getting hit by a spiked ball" Sonic finished.

Mina was shocked by this. This was a big deal, not just a few monsters. She noticed that Sonic was looking depressed and quickly remembered something.

"Hey, I saw something fly away from that stadium. I think you're friends might've escaped" she explained.

New hope glittered in the hedgehog's green eyes. "Really? Well, that's good to know. Did you see anything else?"

"Yeah, a huge black rock flew over a couple of minutes ago" the mongoose told him.

"A rock? Like a comet?" Sonic asked. Mina nodded.

"Where'd it go?"

Mina pointed. That way but why's it so…" Before she could answer, Sonic had picked her up and was beginning to run at high speeds. Mina was terrified by how fast they were going but, somehow it was quite invigorating. Sonic, meanwhile, was focused on where he was going. He ran all around the ancient track, jumping over any obstacles and running through loops.

The track soon came to an end and as Sonic put Mina down, he apologised.

"Sorry about that. Hope I didn't scare you."

Mina was still breathing heavily from the excitement and simply said "No. Not at all. Why'd you stop?"

Sonic pointed and Mina followed his finger. The Black Comet was already out of reach.

"Great. We've lost it. Now what?" Mina sighed.

Sonic was just as frustrated but then he saw a red biplane zoom by at high speeds. With a smirk on his face, he said "Don't worry. A friend of mine will handle it. Let's try and get back to solid ground. How'd you get up here?"

Mina realised that they were where she landed upon arriving and began to poke around in a nearby bush. She then pulled out what looked like a skateboard with no wheels. It was green with dark-yellow outlines and had a symbol of a leaf on it. Sonic seemed to recognise it.

"Extreme Gear?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm afraid this is the only one so you'll have to hang on" said Mina.

Sonic gave the traditional thumbs up. "No problem. Come on. Let's go!"

Once both hedgehog and mongoose were on board, they made a direct course for solid ground.

* * *

**By the way, this Mina is property of Babylon Sky Hawk. I hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to review!**


	4. Babylon Garden Part 2

Chapter 4

Metal and Amy were flying through the sky, both alert. Metal, thankfully, had plenty of energy to activate his boosters. The two had decided to hunt down the Black Comet in an attempt to save Blaze.

"Metal," Amy said, breaking the silence, "Do you see anything?"

"Nothing. It's almost like it just vanished" Metal stated, scanning the entire area in front of him.

Amy sighed in disappointment when she heard something. Looking behind them, she saw something emerge from the clouds.

"Uh, Metal?" she said but the robot shrugged her off.

"Not now, I'm trying to find that comet" he said, irritably.

"But Metal…"

"For the last time, be quiet."

"IT'S RIGHT BEHIND US!!!" the pink hedgehog screamed, prompting Metal to turn round. Before they knew what was happening, the comet knocked into them, causing them to crash land on it.

"Well, we're here" said Metal, picking himself up. Amy followed suit, wiping the dirt off.

"Now all we need to do is find Blaze" she said, immediately taking off. Metal shrugged before following her. As they began to walk across the top of the comet, Metal noticed something.

"Amy? How come we're not being attacked?" he asked.

Amy stopped and looked about. He was right. No monsters had appeared. They were on enemy territory so where were they? Before she could reply, a sound of lasers being fired reached their ears. The Black Comet's arsenal was firing at something in the sky. Both hedgehogs tried to make out what was being shot at. Metal attempted to zoom in and saw a red biplane swerving all over the place in an attempt to stay airborne.

"Metal? What is it?" Amy asked.

"It's some airplane. But why is it here?" he responded. He then noticed one of the lasers strike it, destroying the left wing. The plane began to spiral down, heading towards the comet. Metal and Amy were unsure of what was going on until the plane swept past them, knocking them off the comet. Amy screamed in terror as she fell but Metal quickly grabbed her and activated his boosters again. It looked like they were safe when Metal heard a warning sound.

"Warning. Fuel emissions dropping. Boosters running at 15%."

"Damn it!" Metal cursed. "I'm nearly out of the energy. We need to make a pitstop" he told Amy. He was about to make a dash for the Black Comet but it had already moved on. It looked like they were stuck until Metal saw a floating island, Babylon Garden.

Using whatever energy he had left, he dashed towards it, his energy slowly dropping. Just as it was about to run out, he crashed onto the island. He dropped Amy who rolled across the ground before coming to a stop. The two pushed themselves up and stared at the comet as it left.

"Great. We lost it" Amy said, both angry and upset.

Metal simply shrugged it off and went to sit down under a tree. "We'll have to stay here until I charge back up."

"But then we'll lose our only chance of rescuing Blaze!" Amy cried but Metal wasn't listening. The pink hedgehog stormed off and went to the edge, staring at the floating black rock.

* * *

On said rock, Scourge was patrolling the top of it.

"I could've sworn I heard something" he muttered. Suddenly, a beeping noise went off. The green hedgehog reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver communicator. He began to speak into it.

"Hello?"

"Ah Scourge" the person on the other end replied. Whoever they were, they had a dark tone to their voice, which sent shivers down Scourge's spine.

"Oh, it's you. Uh, how's it going, partner?" he asked nervously.

"Need I remind you that I'm a higher rank than you?" the voice asked.

"No" Scourge grunted. He hated the fact that this guy treated himself higher than him even though he was one of the elites like Scourge. But he didn't say anything about it.

"Anyway," the voice continued, "How did the mission go?"

Scourge smirked. "Went off without a hitch. That Ancient Minister made sure the bomb was set off. Plus, the robot was able to get rid of Sonic!"

"Good. And the other three?"

"Well, Metal and the pink girl got away but I was able to capture the cat. You can tell the doctor that his invention works" explained Scourge.

"Well done, Scourge. Now I see why the Twilight Emperor chose you as an elite" the voice said. "Now, just get back here as quickly as possible" it finished before hanging up.

Scourge nodded and was about to go below decks when he saw Babylon Garden. "That place looks fancy" he aid, pulling out a telescope. He scanned the island when his gaze rested on Metal and Amy.

A toothy grin emerged on the callous hedgehog's face. "I suppose there's no harm in having some fun."

* * *

Back on the island, Amy was tapping her foot in annoyance. "How long is it gonna take for you to recharge?"

Metal sat there in silence before replying. "Well, I'm 75% full, so hopefully not too long."

Amy sighed. She was getting bored. And all she had for company was a loner robot. Her mind then drifted to Sonic. Was he alive? Was he ok? She couldn't bear losing him. She was about to break into tears when she noticed something. A trail of muddy footprints led to the side of the island. She stared at the mark they made and recognised them.

"Metal!" she screamed, turning to run towards him. "Sonic's alive! I know he…"

She stopped when she saw two Nightmares pinning Metal down. He tried to fight against them but his power reserves still weren't full. Amy pulled her hammer out and instantly clobbered the two monsters, freeing Metal.

"Are you OK?" she asked her fallen comrade.

Metal looked up and saw something behind her. "Amy! Behind you!"

Amy automatically swung her hammer round and knocked back a new kind of enemy. It was small and neon green. It seemed to bare resemblance to a puppy with small jaws. We'll call it a Little Rex. It instantly died but a battalion of the things were there. Amy stood her ground and held her hammer in a defence position.

"Metal. Stay back. I'll handle them" she told him. Metal seemed hesitant but agreed and left Amy to face the small monsters. The things instinctively jumped at her but she swung her hammer to knock them away. This was proven to be a distraction so a few could nip at her legs. She squealed slightly, kicking them away but more charged at her.

She jumped out of the way and squashed a few under her hammer as she slammed it into the ground. A small shockwave knocked them into the air. Smirking, Amy began to spin with her hammer held out. She began to rise into the air and the small Rexes were drawn in. They were instantly knocked over the edge by the hammer.

As she came to a stop, she landed and winked at Metal. "Those things weren't so tough."

Metal was impressed but it was replaced by a look of shock. Something was underneath her. He jumped and pushed her out of the way before a neon blue creature erupted from the ground. It resembled an eel, so we'll call it a Dark Eel.

"Thanks" Amy said.

"No problem" was the reply. As they got up, two more eels appeared from the ground. All three made bites at the surrounded heroes but Amy swung her hammer to keep them back. One came from behind but Metal grabbed it by the neck and ripped it from the ground. He swung it at another one, killing them both. The remaining one fired a ball of purple energy at them but they jumped back to avoid it. The eel began to fire more but the heroes continuously dodged.

"That thing's not letting us near it!" exclaimed Amy.

Metal nodded. He couldn't risk using his electric powers. He might waste some of the energy he was saving for his boosters. Amy seemed to think the same thing but, glancing at her hammer, she got an idea. Reeling her arm back, she threw her hammer at the eel, who did nothing to stop it bashing its head, killing it.

Amy made a dash for her hammer, cheering at how easy it was. Metal simply stood there, unaware of what was coming up behind him.

As Amy picked up her weapon, she said "Man, that was way too easy, eh Metal?"

All she got for a response was a roar. Turning, she saw Metal being crushed by another neon blue monster. This one was as big as the Titan that Sonic and Mina fought, only it had stretchy arms like the Nightmares and was really fat. We'll call it a Big Mother.

"Metal, hold on!" Amy screamed, running at the monster but to her surprise, the Big Mother shot out loads of Little Rexes out of its stomach. Amy didn't know whether to be shocked or disgusted but she didn't have time as the small beasts were already making a dash for her. Without thinking, Amy jumped off of the things, making her way towards the Mother. But, it threw its stretchy arms at her. She was knocked to the side and slammed into the ground. At the same time, the Rexes were knocked over the edge. Amy used this as her opportunity.

Quickly getting back up, she ran as fast as she could at the monster. She jumped and slammed her hammer into the monster's head. But it didn't seem to do anything.

"Uh oh" she muttered as the Mother prepared another attack. With no other option, Amy decided to try attacking the stomach. But she was sucked in!

Metal's eyes widened. "AMY!!! Oh god no! If Sonic is alive, he'll kill me!"

The monster began to put more weight on him. "Unless this thing kills me first!"

It looked like the end for Metal when the monster stopped. It began to bulge all over the place, as if something was trying to get out. Suddenly, Amy burst out of its stomach, leaving the monster to fall back and die.

Metal stood back up. "Oh, Amy, you're…" Metal began to say before bursting into laughter. Amy was covered in blue goop.

"It ISN'T funny! Be thankful that I saved you" Amy yelled.

Metal attempted to stifle his laughter. "Well, with that problem solved, let's get to solid ground. My boosters should be working again."

Amy nodded, wiping off the goop before letting Metal grab hold of her. Metal activated his boosters and headed for solid ground.

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	5. Tropical Jungle Part 1 & Green Hill Zone

Chapter 5

The scene opens up to a thick jungle. It was filled with trees and other plant life, as well as huge lakes. It was traversable however as it was filled with architecture. It was called Tropical Jungle and it was normally peaceful. But not today.

Out of nowhere, a strange vehicle burst through the foliage. It was a red platform that hovered just above the ground. At the front was a small black robot with red gloves and a silver head. It was holding onto a pole that was steering the platform. At the back was a small group of white robots that seemed to be made of cubes. They were about the same size as the robot driving. In the middle of the platform stood a large, green emerald. It was glowing vibrantly, almost beautifully.

"It appears we have lost them" said the robot driving. "We must get this emerald to the doctor immediately."

The other robots nodded, until they heard the sound of metal being ripped. Turning, they saw a few Egg Pawns get thrown out of the thicket. Or at least what was left of them.

"Uh oh" the driver gulped, immediately sending the platform hurtling forward at full throttle. Suddenly, a figure burst forth into the clearing. It was an echidna, about the same height as Sonic. He was red and had a white, crescent shaped birthmark on his stomach. He wore yellow and red shoes and white gloves, only they were more like boxing gloves and had two knuckles on each hand.

"Give back the Master Emerald, you trash cans!" he yelled after the fleeing robots. As the platform took off, one of the white robots pressed a button on the platform, which caused a small cannon to appear out of the floor. The robot pressed another button that fired the cannon. Two red missiles flew out and directed themselves towards the echidna, who raised his fists. Before he could do anything though, another figure jumped out and kicked the missiles away. Both were sent back to sender but the platform easily manoeuvred out of the way.

The second figure landed next to the echidna. She was a white bat with blue make-up on her eyelids and she wore a skin tight black suit with a heart shaped breast plate. She also wore long white gloves and boots that had pink hearts on the end. The echidna seemed slightly disgruntled with her appearance.

"Why are you still following me, Rouge?" he asked.

Rouge smirked. "Hey, I want that emerald as much as I do. So, if I want it, I need to help you, Knuckie."

"I need it to keep my island floating! Not because it's shiny!" the echidna yelled, a vein throbbing. "And stop calling me that! It's Knuckles!"

Rouge rolled her eyes before noticing that the robots were escaping. A cocky smile appeared on her face. "Race ya?" she said, flapping her wings and taking off after them. Knuckles growled before giving chase.

* * *

Rouge flew through the air, attempting to make out the platform through the trees.

"I should've thought this through" she sighed to herself. "Hey, maybe I can cut them off?" Grinning at her idea, she picked up speed and flew off further ahead.

* * *

Knuckles was having just as much trouble as Rouge was. Not only was the platform faster than him but it manoeuvred easily through the jungle. The echidna was constantly pushing his way through bushes in an attempt to catch it. The robots that got in his way weren't helping either.

"Get out of my way!" he roared, sending one of his fists straight through a Pawn's body. He quickly pulled it out to bash another one that was coming from behind. He picked it up and threw it at another one that was about to charge at him with a lance.

One pawn pulled out a gun and began to fire at Knuckles but he picked up the remains of a nearby pawn and used it as a shield to block the bullets. He charged at the robot, who wasn't stopping anytime soon. Knuckles was getting closer and eventually rammed into the pawn. He didn't stop either and continued to run until the robot was smashed against a tree.

Knuckles admired his handiwork, failing to notice one pawn coming up behind him with a cannon. It fired and hit the ground where Knuckles was standing, causing him to be thrown up into the air. He landed with a thud, quickly getting up.

"I'm getting really sick of you guys" he growled. The robot responded by firing another shot but Knuckles was prepared this time. He rolled out of the way and struck the ground with his fist, causing a slight tremor that made the robot lose its balance. Knuckles made a dash for it but it started firing. But since it was losing balance, the missiles were being shot all over the place, destroying some of the plant life and setting a few on fire. The echidna didn't bother to stop, focused on taking it out. The robot managed to regain its balance and aimed its cannon right at Knuckles' face. But the echidna smirked, jumping over the robot until he was directly above it. He then aimed his fists downwards and begun to spin, a red aura surrounding him as he did. He eventually drove straight through the robot, making it instantly blow up.

Knuckles somehow survived, brushing himself down. "Well, that's that taken care of, he said to himself. He was about to continue chasing the robots when one of the lit trees collapsed in front of him, blocking his path.

"Oh, great!" he cried. It looked like he was stuck when an idea came to him. Smirking, he pulled out a pair of silver claws that he attached to his gloves. He then began to dig furiously, chuckling all the while. "They'll never see it coming."

* * *

The scene shifts to the Green Hill Zone, a world famous landmark that was populated with animals. It was also filled with loops and springs. A perfect place for a run. Speaking of which, a blue blur zoomed past, sending dirt up into the air. Sonic was carrying Mina through the zone, running around loops and over hills. All the while, the Nightmares were attempting to attack them but Sonic swiftly jumped off of their heads. He wasn't going to stop and you could tell by the serious expression on his face.

Mina, however, had her eyes closed. She still wasn't used to moving at high speeds. Once they landed on solid ground, they had spotted the Ancient Minister and quickly followed him. Sonic wasn't wasting anytime and grabbed the mongoose and took off. Occasionally she opened her eyes to see how fast they were going but instantly shut them. Sonic noticed this after a while and skidded to a stop, making sure no monsters were nearby first.

Placing her down, he asked "Are you feeling OK?"

Mina nearly threw up but she managed to say "I'm fine. You didn't have to stop."

Sonic sighed. "Well, I'm sorry for just taking off like that. If anyone has any answers to what's happening, it's that…"

He was cut off when he saw something floating nearby. He narrowed his eyes and instantly recognized it.

"There he is!" he yelled, zooming off after him, leaving Mina in the dust. The Ancient Minister had heard Sonic's cry and, after seeing him, instantly fled. He was carrying another Twilight Bomb. He was surprisingly fast and Sonic found great difficulty keeping up with him.

"Hold it right there!" he called after him.

"Don't try and stop me" the minister said. "This world is doomed and you know it."

"That doesn't mean I'll just stand by and let your evil plans come to fruition!" the hedgehog yelled.

The Ancient Minister seemed awfully quiet for a moment before saying "You wouldn't understand."

Sonic was getting fed up and jumped after him, attempting to grab hold of the bomb but failed as the minister pulled up at the last minute. As Sonic fell, Mina came out of nowhere, jumped off of Sonic's head and managed to grab hold of the bomb.

The minister quickly saw this and began to swing the bomb like a wrecking ball. "I've told you, your efforts are futile" he said but Mina wasn't listening.

"I won't let you get away with what you're doing!" Mina replied, kicking and punching the bomb. The minister began to swing it harder, eventually flinging Mina off. She fell to the ground and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. Thankfully, Sonic was already underneath her and easily caught her.

"You OK?" he asked.

Mina opened her eyes, realised she was, and gave the hedgehog a quick hug. "My, you sure are the heroic one" she said as Sonic put her down.

"Comes with the job" he replied, a smile on his face. It was replaced with a frown when he saw the Ancient Minister disappear over some mountains. "Great, we lost him."

Mina sighed, realising she botched up but Sonic began to reassure her. "Hey, it's OK. We'll get him next time. Come on!"

Sonic quickly took off, with Mina not too far behind.

* * *

Back in Tropical Jungle, the robots that had stolen the Master Emerald had appeared in a clearing. The driver took a quick look around and made sure they were alone.

"We've lost them" it stated, but it was quickly followed with a feminine "Don't count on it!"

Rouge dropped from the sky, armed with small, heart shaped bombs that she quickly chucked at the platform. However, they bounced off of an invisible shield.

"Wasn't expecting that" she muttered. Suddenly, two mini-guns appeared, one on each side of the platform. They aimed themselves at the bat, causing her to stay absolutely still. She didn't want to take chances but if she stayed there, she'd be killed anyway. It looked like it was all over for the bat when a rumbling sound reached her ears.

Suddenly, Knuckles burst from underneath the platform. The little, white robots were sent through the air, instantly smashing when they hit the ground. The driver survived but quickly crawled away. The emerald landed on the ground, undamaged.

Rouge stared at the smug echidna. "How did you…" she began to ask but Knuckles knew what she was going to say.

"Shovel Claws" he said, simply, motioning to the claws he wore as he put them away. He then turned his attention to the emerald, with Rouge doing the same.

The driver robot seemed disheartened at failing but he noticed someone else arrive and saluted at the figure, who approached the two treasure hunters silently.

"Now all I have to do is return the emerald to Angel Island" Knuckles said.

"I think you're forgetting, that's my emerald" Rouge stated.

"It's mine, bat-girl!" Knuckles growled.

"No, it's mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

Do you two spend your whole lives arguing?"

The two stiffened at the sound of the voice. Turning, they saw a tall, elderly man in a red coat with golden straps and cuffs. He wore black trousers and boots and white gloves. He also had a moustache, a big red nose, on hair and small blue glasses. He had an evil smile on his face.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked the two.

"It's been too long, Dr. Eggman!" Knuckles growled.

"Why are you here?" questioned Rouge.

Eggman began to chortle. "Isn't it obvious? I ordered my robots to steal that emerald to lead you here into a trap."

Knuckles and Rouge looked at each other. "Why us?" they both asked.

"Well, it's just to let you know… That the Twilight Emperor will dominate this world!"

Suddenly, Eggman pulled out the same weapon Scourge had. "Behold, my greatest invention, the Dark Cannon!"

Rouge chuckled. "How amusing" she said, stepping forward.

"You won't be smiling for long!" Eggman cackled, beginning to charge up. Rouge simply raised an eyebrow but Knuckles was thinking things through.

"Twilight Emperor? Wait, the stone carvings on Angel Island… They talked about…" he thought, before a look of horror appeared on his face.

He began to reel his arm back, which Rouge only noticed at the last minute.

"Knuckles, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving you!" Knuckles yelled, before throwing his fist up. Rouge was knocked into the air as Eggman fired.

"KNUCKLES!" she cried, watching the black arrow pierce the echidna's body and turn him into a trophy. She stared with shock as she disappeared in the distance.

Eggman seemed disappointed. "Rats, I could've had them both. Ah well, Knuckles will do" he said, picking up the trophy and placing it on a new platform that appeared. The small black robot from before was driving.

"What now, Doctor?" it asked.

"Just wait there Ergo. I just have to make a call" the doctor said, before pulling out a communicator, similar to the one Scourge had. He began to press some buttons before putting it to his ear.

"Eggman, what is it?" the voice on the other end asked. It was the same person Scourge spoke to.

"I thought I should let you know that I've captured Knuckles but Rouge got away" Eggman explained.

"It doesn't matter. Just bring the echidna to the base on Angel Island. It should've been finished by now, if that cloaked guy kept his promise" the voice ordered. "Oh, and bring the Master Emerald and bring it with you. It'd be best if the island was floating again."

Eggman nodded, placing the emerald on the platform. "OK, what about Rouge?"

There was a silence before the voice said "You can do what you want."

Eggman grinned evilly as he hung up. "Ergo, you know that secret project I've been working on?" he spoke to the robot, now known as Ergo. "I think it's time we took it out for a test drive."

The doctor laughed out loud as he boarded the platform, taking the emerald and Knuckles' trophy. However, he failed to notice two balls of light leave the emerald and float off in different directions.

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	6. Tropical Jungle Part 2

Chapter 6

The scene opens up to a vast lake. It seemed awfully quiet. Until the sound of screaming was heard. Rouge slammed into the ground, pulling her head out of the dirt and spitting some that got in her mouth.

"Stupid knucklehead! I'm gonna ring his neck when I see him!" she swore. Picking herself, she surveyed the lake as she brushed herself down.

"Looks like I'm still in Tropical Jungle, which means Eggman couldn't have gotten too far" the bat deducted. "Now I can retrieve the Master Emerald without Knuckles' interference!"

Rouge nearly jumped for joy. She was about to stroll off when she remembered what happened.

_

* * *

_

Flashback

Suddenly, Eggman pulled out the same weapon Scourge had. "Behold, my greatest invention, the Dark Cannon!"

Rouge chuckled. "How amusing" she said, stepping forward.

"You won't be smiling for long!" Eggman cackled, beginning to charge up. Rouge simply raised an eyebrow but Knuckles was thinking things through.

"Twilight Emperor? Wait, the stone carvings on Angel Island… They talked about…" he thought, before a look of horror appeared on his face.

He began to reel his arm back, which Rouge only noticed at the last minute.

"Knuckles, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving you!" Knuckles yelled, before throwing his fist up. Rouge was knocked into the air as Eggman fired.

"KNUCKLES!" she cried, watching the black arrow pierce the echidna's body and turn him into a trophy. She stared with shock as she disappeared in the distance.

_End Flashback_

* * *

"He saved my life" she muttered silently. "He gave himself up to save me." Something began to compel Rouge to save Knuckles. What it was, she didn't know. But she had this strange sensation in her. She shook herself.

"I just owe the guy, that's all" she told herself. "Nothing more to it." The bat had made her mind up. Chase after Eggman and get the Master Emerald. And save Knuckles because he saved her.

As Rouge turned, she noticed something. A red biplane had crashed into the ground, its tail sticking up. Rouge noticed that it had a picture of two tails on it.

"Isn't that... the Tornado!" the bat cried, instantly recognizing it. She was about to run to it when she heard a funny noise. Looking up, she saw Ergo on a flying platform.

"Bat detected. Preparing to initiate Project: Shadow!" he said, pressing a button on a keyboard that was in front of him. Rouge raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on until the ground began to shake. Ripples began to appear on the surface of the lake and, suddenly, a giant orange lizard burst from it. It had tubes coming out of its mouth and into a strange, spherical device on its back that glowed red. It opened its mouth and let out a roar that knocked Rouge over.

"Behold, the Biolizard!" cried Ergo, instantly taking off.

"Hey, get back here!" Rouge cried, beginning to take after him but the Biolizard rose on its back legs and swatted her away. She slammed into the ground head-first. She was so dazed; she didn't see the monster preparing to fire a black sphere out of its mouth. It looked like it was lights out for her when someone jumped out of the crashed plane, attracting the Biolizard's attention.

Turning, it could make out a shadow but didn't see the bomb it chucked at the device on its back. The monster roared with pain, falling on its side and making water splash everywhere. Rouge then noticed her savior.

He was a young orange fox with three bangs, white gloves, white fur on his chest and red and white shoes. What stood out the most about him though were the two tails he had. He turned to Rouge with a kind smile.

"Hey, Rouge. Long time, no see."

"Tails? I never thought I'd say this but I'm glad you're here" Rouge said. "What happened to your plane?"

Tails was about to answer when they heard a roar and saw the Biolizard picking itself up. "Looks like it's still got some fight in him" Tails pointed out, raising his fists.

Rouge stood next to him. "Save some of the action for me!"

The Biolizard stared at its prey before letting out another roar. The two jumped and took to the air to avoid the black sphere it shot at them. Rouge began to spin in tornado-fashion and aimed her foot at the monster's head. However she bounced off of its tough hide.

"Don't attack it directly" called Tails. "Aim for the machine on its back!" he told her before being knocked away by the Biolizard's tail.

The bat quickly flew behind it and pulled out a few bombs. They hit the machine, causing the monster to roar in pain. The bat had a toothy smirk on her face until the monster aimed its head at her and closed its mouth on her.

She tried pushing the jaw pen but was finding it difficult. What's more, she was getting covered with saliva. Thankfully, Tails had recovered and aimed one of his ring shaped bombs at the machine. When the Biolizard roared, Rouge escaped from the mouth.

"I really need a shower" she said to herself, deciding to take a quick dip in the lake, leaving Tails alone.

"Oh thanks a lot" he grumbled, flying all around the lizard in an attempt to avoid its black spheres. It appeared to have caught on to the fact they were attacking the life-support system and was constantly turning so Tails couldn't get a good shot.

At one point, the fox had an opening and was about to throw a bomb when the Biolizard turned and summoned a bunch of small pink blobs that were sent in his direction. They came too fast and knocked Tails out of the air.

He landed with a thud and shuddered as the monster hovered above him. It looked like Tails was going to be the monster's next meal when Rouge jumped from the water and aimed a well placed kick at the machine. The beast roared but Rouge wasn't done. She began to repeatedly kick the machine until smoke began to leave it.

"This ends here you ugly thing!" Rouge cried, spinning into the machine one last time. It exploded in a flash of red, knocking Rouge to the side, next to Tails. They simply stared as the Biolizard gave out one last roar before collapsing into the water. Then, to their utter horror, it dissolved into pink spheres, the same ones that make the Nightmares.

Rouge couldn't help but smile. "How was that? Perfect, like me?" she asked.

Tails merely gave a thumbs up before walking off. Instinctively, Rouge grabbed his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

Tails pulled his arm out of her grip. "I need to find a way of fixing my plane up" he explained, gesturing to the wreckage of the Tornado. "I was trying to attack the flagship of the Twilight Army when they shot me out of the air."

"So you know about them too?" the bat asked.

Tails nodded. "That's why this plane needs upgrading. If we can get to my workshop, I can whip up a new plane in no time."

Tails began to walk off again but Rouge grabbed hold of his tails and dragged him back.

"Look, fox boy. If you want to be useful, you can help me" she told him, a cheeky smile on her face.

Tails sighed. "I'm not helping you steal the Master Emerald" he said, bluntly.

"What if Eggman had it?"

The fox's eyebrows rose. "Eggman? He has it? Didn't Knuckles try and stop him?"

Rouge looked down. "He captured Knuckles. No doubt he wants him out of the way."

Tails began to think. "OK, if Knuckles needs help, I'll join you."

"Great" Rouge said, grabbing Tails by the arm and dragging him into the jungle.

'She must really want that emerald back' he thought. He couldn't be more wrong as Rouge thought to herself 'Hold on, Knuckles. I'm coming.'

* * *

After some time of trekking through the jungle and fighting off Eggman's robots, the two appeared in a clearing.

"We must be getting close to him. The robot forces are increasing" said Tails.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Really? I hadn't noticed" she said sarcastically. Suddenly, she came to a sudden stop, causing Tails to bump into her.

"Rouge? Why'd you stop?" he asked, peeking round and seeing why. Eggman was standing right there, his back to them.

Tails began to whisper. "We'll sneak up on him, ok?"

Rouge nodded and the two began to creep up on the unsuspecting doctor. They were nearly there when a fly appeared from nowhere and swept past Rouge's nose. She couldn't help but let out a sneeze.

Eggman swiftly jumped round, holding a black gun with a red trim round the barrel (think of the gun he threatened Amy with in SA2). He fired but the two fliers jumped out of the way in time.

"I thought you were supposed to be a master thief?" Tails mocked.

"Shut it, kid!" was the reply as Eggman fired more shots at the two. Rouge recklessly jumped forward and attempted to kick Eggman in the face. However, the doctor managed to dodge the attacks and punched the bat away.

"That's strange" Tails said out loud. "Since when was Eggman good at hand-to-hand?"

Meanwhile, Rouge was relentlessly trying to hit Eggman but the doctor was too fast. He then batted her away with his gun and pulled out a second one, firing one shot from each. Tails dodged the one aimed for him but Rouge was hit in the wing. She fell to the floor, groaning in pain. Tails ran to her and managed to drag her to safety, whilst avoiding the shots from Eggman.

"Are you OK?" he asked in concern.

"Aside from the fact my wing feels like falling off, I'm fine" scowled Rouge. "I don't think I can fly for a while."

"Let it heal. I'll handle Eggman" ordered Tails. He then jumped into the line of fire and proceeded to fly in the air as Eggman continued to shoot at him. After a while, Eggman stopped to reload, giving Tails the opportunity he needed. He raised his left arm, a little circle appearing round it. Suddenly, it extended all the way up his arm before being replaced with a red cannon. Smirking, Tails began to fire at Eggman.

The doctor saw this and began to run away from the shots. Tails landed and was forced to dodge from another shot by Eggman. Soon, the two were running round the clearing, trying to shoot the other. Tails rolled to the side and fired a well aimed shot that knocked one of the guns out of Eggman's hand. Then, just as quickly, Tails shot the other gun out of the way.

"You've got nowhere to go, Eggman" Tails said, aiming his cannon at Eggman.

Then, white bombs appeared and blew up around Eggman, causing Tails to shield his eyes. When the dust settled, Eggman's trophy lay on the floor. Rouge emerged from the side. She had bandaged the wing and had a satisfied look on her face.

"Done and done" she said.

Tails merely stared. "What was that for? We didn't have to kill him! We just needed to know where Knuckles was!" he yelled, as his cannon vanished.

"Oh cry me a river. He's out of the way and it serves him right" Rouge said, kicking the trophy. That's when it dissolved, like the Biolizard, into pink spheres. The two stared in horror.

"What just happened?" asked Rouge.

"It dissolved. But that means…" Tails thought aloud, before his eyes widened. "It was a fake!"

"How right you are!"

Tails and Rouge turned to the voice in time to dodge a black arrow aimed right for them. They saw Eggman emerge from the jungle, carrying his Dark Cannon.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Tails" he sneered.

"Where is Knuckles?" questioned Tails.

Eggman waved his hand. "Oh he's fine. For now until the Twilight Emperor sees to him."

Tails raised an eyebrow. "You're working for someone? That doesn't sound like you."

"I admit I didn't like it at first. But with him, I can defeat Sonic once and for all and rule the world beside him. That's why I'm an elite of the Twilight Army. Now stand still and don't try to escape" Eggman told them, aiming his cannon as robots and nightmares appeared from all sides.

Rouge growled while Tails scanned the area. He noticed one area that the robots had neglected to stand by. They need a distraction. Thankfully, Rouge supplied it, unintentionally.

"Give Knuckles back, you overweight…" she cursed, before throwing one of her bombs. Eggman jumped back to avoid it and in his moment of distraction, Tails grabbed Rouge and dragged her through a bush. The robots began to give chase and were catching up fast.

"We need to get out of here!" cried Tails. He then noticed a cliff edge with a waterfall.

Rouge saw it too and caught on to Tails' plan. "Tails, don't!" she protested but the fox had already jumped over the edge, with Rouge in tow.

Eggman caught up, puffing and panting, and looked over the edge. "If I know them, they're alive somewhere."

He was about to order his robots to chase after them when Ergo appeared.

"Doctor. The Biolizard failed" he said. Eggman grabbed him by the throat.

"I know! If it hadn't, Rouge and Tails wouldn't be here!" he cried.

"I have other news. The Twilight Emperor has orders for you" the robot said.

"You didn't get them directly from him, did you?" asked Eggman.

Ergo shook his head. "I was contacted from…"

"I know who you heard it from. What were the orders?" the doctor asked.

"You were ordered to capture this person" Ergo said, showing Eggman a photo. An evil grin appeared on his face when he recognized the pink hedgehog.


	7. Westopolis

**My longest chapter yet! R&R!**

Chapter 7

The scene shifts to the city of Westopolis. Normally, this vibrant city was busy and filled with people. But the Twilight Army had made its mark. The buildings were practically destroyed. The clouds above were black, meaning it could rain at any moment. The city also had an eerie quality to it. It was so quiet and empty. Well, almost empty. One figure was walking down a broken road.

She was a young raccoon, no older than eight, with orange and brown fur. She wore a green and white tube top, black skin-tight shorts and green and orange shoes. She had a nervous look on her face.

"Oh boy. This place is like a ghost town" she said to herself, in an Australian accent. She shuddered as a cold wind swept past. The worried look was then replaced with confidence.

"What am I talking about? I'm Captain Marine the Raccoon! I'm afraid of nothing!" she declared but she then noticed the purple orbs falling from the sky. It wasn't long before she was surrounded by a battalion of Nightmares.

"Ah! These are the bonzas that attacked the city" she cried. "Well, I'll just have to show them not to mess with Captain Marine!"

One Nightmare launched itself at Marine but she ducked under it and fired a green ball of energy from her hand at it, instantly killing it.

"Not so tough, are ya?" she mocked. She regretted it when two attacked her at once. The two charged at her from both sides, causing her to duck. The monsters ended up running into each other. Marine noticed this and kicked the things away. One died but the other survived. Before it could attack though, Marine had grabbed its arm and stretched it.

"Blimey, I had no idea they could stretch so far" she mused. Then she heard the monster wail. "Oh, do you want it back?" She released the arm, causing the monster to be flung into one of its comrades.

The young raccoon smirked before hearing a rumbling sound. She instinctively jumped out of the way as a Dark Eel popped up from the ground. Accompanying it were a few more Nightmares,

"Aw, give me a break?" Marine groaned.

The eel began to fire purple blasts at her, which she found hard to dodge. One hit the ground near her feet, flinging her into the air. She landed with a thud and looked up to see a Nightmare approaching her. She opened her palm and fired another blast of green energy at it. The blast sent the creature through the air. It would've hit the eel but it ducked underground. The two remaining Nightmares made a beeline for the raccoon.

Quickly, Marine got to her feet and jumped onto one of them. Grabbing hold of it, she began to ride it.

"Bonza! This is fun!" she yelled, as the monster buckled back and forth. It eventually threw her off into a nearby lamppost. She fell to the floor again but pushed herself back up. Staring with shock as the Nightmares approached her, she threw another energy blast but the Nightmares were aware of it now and dodged it. What's more, the eel appeared from behind and prepared to bite down on the raccoon.

Panicking, Marine jumped up and soon found herself on top of the eel. A plan came to her and she caught hold of it round the head.

"Let's see how this thing works" she said to herself, squeezing the monster's neck, making it shoot out its purple orbs at the two Nightmares. They didn't see it coming and were blown up. The eel somehow regained control and threw Marine off of it. But as she sailed through the air, Marine managed to fire a few shots at it, killing it.

"Hah, I knew they were no match for the great Captain Marine!" she declared once more, raising a fist in triumph. She then noticed a rumbling sound and a colossal shadow fall over her.

She began to scratch her head in confusion. "Weird. It's not night time already is it?" she asked.

She then turned round and saw the source of the shadow. It was a huge stone statue that greatly resembled Eggman. Now, you'd think this was a new challenge for the great Captain Marine. Well, you're wrong!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! RUN AWAY!" Marine screamed in terror as the huge statue lumbered after her. She ran all the way down the empty road, with more Nightmares popping up in front of her.

"Out of my way, bozos!" she screamed, running straight past them. They turned to chase after her but the statue crushed them. It was clearly intent that it was after Marine.

The raccoon ran as fast as she could, constantly turning her head to see if it was still following. It was. She ignored all the enemies that crossed her path and focused on running. It wasn't long before she began to run out of breath.

"I've gotta find somewhere to hide!" she said. She then saw an old warehouse. She ducked into it before the hulking piece of rock turned the corner. She listened out for the rumbling sound, deciding to sneak out the back entrance to confuse it even more. She found herself on another road behind the building.

She sighed in relief. "That was close" she said. Suddenly, the statue smashed through the building, taking Marine by surprise. Stumbling, she began to run again. After making her way round another corner, she saw an abandoned car and ducked inside, hoping to lose it. It was then she realised she was crying.

"I've gotta be brave. I've gotta be brave" she repeated. Then, the statue appeared, turning its head to face where Marine was hiding. She gulped and closed her eyes and covered her head.

The statue was about to crush her when it tilted its head to something else. A figure blurred across its front in a diagonal fashion, knocking it over. It fell with an almighty thud that made Marine open her eyes. She stared with amazement as the figure landed opposite the statue.

He bared resemblance to an echidna, only his fur was greying. He wore a purple cloak and carried a golden staff.

"So, this is what he sends after me? Pathetic" he mocked. The statue picked itself up and stared down at the echidna. "Bah, you're not worthy of my time! Doom Orb!"

The echidna held his staff out in front of him and fired a green orb that grew in size to encase the statue. Suddenly, it blew up, its pieces scattering all over the place.

Marine was stunned and instantly jumped out of the car and ran towards him.

"That was ripper, mate!" she cried, slapping the figure on the back. He turned to her with an emotionless expression.

"Who are you, girl?" he asked.

"Oi, watch who you're talking to, mate! I'm Captain Marine!" the raccoon declared. The echidna raised an eyebrow.

"I… see" he said. His attention was then taken to the rubble that was left of the statue. "Quick! Take cover!" he ordered.

"Why?" Marine asked but before he could answer, the rubble flew off, revealing a new figure.

He was a robot that, like the statue, resembled Eggman. He was designed to look like a pirate with his red coat and eye patch. He had skulls on his wrists and a huge white moustache of sorts.

"Ha ha ha! Ahoy there, matey!" he said. "It be I, Captain Whisker, scourge of the Seven Seas!"

The echidna raised an eyebrow again. "I thought Scourge was the scourge of the seas, Whisker!"

"Argh, shut up, traitor!" the pirate robot yelled, aiming his fist at the echidna. "I'll bring your head to the Twilight Emperor, Ix!"

Suddenly, the pirate's fist launched itself at the echidna, now known as Ix. Even though he looked old, Ix swiftly leapt over it. The fist retracted itself but Ix dodged that as well. Marine stayed on the sidelines in quiet awe.

Angered, Whisker drew his head back and belched fire at Ix, who raised a shield to protect himself. As he dropped the shield, Whisker jumped in front of him and clobbered Ix repeatedly, before bashing him up into the air. As Ix fell, Whisker fired both his fists but Ix flipped in midair and smashed them away with his staff.

"Argh!" Whisker screamed as his own weapons hit him. As he got back up, the pirate robot reattached his fists before Ix landed in front of him.

"You're pathetic, Whisker" Ix smirked. "We both know I'm more powerful!"

An evil grin appeared on Whisker's face. "Maybe so, but how about two of us?"

"Two?" Ix asked.

Suddenly, a green blur shot past him, taking Ix's staff.

"What the… Johnny!" Ix yelled, turning to see a green robot that had a face that was a cross between a shark and a torpedo.

"Ha ha!" the robot known as Johnny laughed. "That's right! You didn't think the Emperor would send Whisker on his own, would ya?"

Whisker chortled before he realised what he meant. "Hey, watch your tounge, you scurvy dog!"

"Anyway," Johnny continued. "Without your staff, you're useless!"

Ix gritted his teeth. "I'll reduce you to spare parts, you…" he began to say but Whisker had punched him away. The pirate robot then breathed fire on him. Ix screamed in pain as the flames burnt him.

Marine stared in horror. "Those drongos are gonna kill him! I've gotta do something!" The raccoon turned to look at Johnny. Determination in her eyes, Marine jumped on a mound of debris and fired a blast of green energy at Johnny. She missed but it alerted the green robot.

"Oh, so the little missy wants to play" he grinned. "Let's see how you fare!" Johnny zoomed at Marine with great speed. Marine jumped off of the debris before Johnny slammed into her. As she landed, she fired a blast at Johnny, which hit him from behind.

"Oh, what the hell!" he cried as he crashed into the ground. Johnny flipped back up and prepared to take off when Marine jumped on him.

"Get off of me! I can't see!" he yelled, as he flew all over the place.

"Yahoo! This is ripper!" cheered Marine.

The pair's cries attracted Ix's and Whisker's attention. Ix stared with amazement as Marine diverted Johnny up into the air, ripped the staff from his grip and jumped off. Johnny seemed confused at first.

"Where'd she go?" he asked before Marine fired a blast upwards that knocked Johnny out of the air. The raccoon flipped and landed on her feet, staff in hand.

"How in Davy Jones' name did you do that?" Whisker gasped.

"I dunno" Marine replied, throwing the staff over Whisker's head. Ix leaped up and grabbed it, landing and slamming it into Whisker. The pirate was knocked towards Marine you ducked under him as he fell.

He quickly got back up and aimed his fist at Marine. "Take this, you scurvy wench!" he cried. But Marine simply backed away, smirking.

Whisker asked "Why are you smiling?" Marine pointed upwards. Whisker looked up in time to see Johnny soaring down towards him. Both robots screamed as they collided, leaving them in a pile of wreckage.

Marine did a jump for joy. "Yeah, we showed those buggers!" she cheered.

Ix walked up next to her. "That was impressive. What did you say your name was again?"

"Marine the Raccoon."

"Marine? Wait, you're one of them!" Ix cried.

"One of what?" the young girl asked.

"Listen, we can't stay out here in the open for too long. It's dangerous" Ix explained.

"More dangerous than you think."

The two turned to the sound of the voice to see Scourge on top of some debris, holding his Dark Cannon.

"Scourge" Ix said with disgust. "You were sent too?"

"Of course," Scourge grinned. "The Emperor knew they'd probably fail so he sent me along."

"You do realise he's only going to kill you once your purpose has been served" Ix said.

"Hah, like I'd believe the words of a traitor! Now stand still and die!" Scourge screamed, firing a black arrow at Ix. But the old echidna flawlessly jumped over it.

"Huh? I said STAND STILL!" the hedgehog shouted, firing black arrows one after the other but Ix easily dodged all of them.

"Yeah, go Ex" cheered Marine.

"It's Ix" sighed the echidna.

Scourge then noticed Marine. "The raccoon!" he cried. "She'll do just fine!" Scourge then turned his sights to Marine and began to charge.

Ix saw this. "Marine! RUN!" he yelled, charging at her.

Marine noticed the cannon facing her and froze in terror. Ix ran as fast as he could. Scourge fired and time seemed to slow down.

In the space of a few seconds, Ix jumped and shoved Marine out of the way. The black arrow drove through his side, turning him into a trophy. Marine pushed herself back up and stared as Scourge jumped down.

"Heh heh heh" he laughed quietly, picking up the trophy. He then turned to Marine. The raccoon stumbled to get back up and ran.

"You're one of the heroes?" he asked after her. "Ha! You're a coward! Hear me? A COWARD!" he cried over the claps of thunder as it began to rain. Marine continued to run turning to look back at Ix being held captive, tears streaming from her eyes.

* * *

A while later, after the rain had stopped, Marine was walking slowly through the city. Somehow, she had arrived near the border of the city. She stared at the ground as she walked.

"That Ix bloke… He died saving me. And I left him" she said to herself. She was about to burst into tears again when she bumped into someone. She stared at the person.

It was a bee about the same age as her. He wore an orange jacket and shoes to match. His striped antennae poked out from his black helmet as he hovered there, staring at Marine.

"What are you looking at?" Marine asked.

The bee tilted his head. "Are you OK?" he asked, pulling out a tissue. Marine gratefully took it.

"No, I left someone who helped me get captured. I just ran like a coward" she said.

The bee had a sorrowful look on his face. "Well, I know how you fell. I left some friends of mine behind."

Marine looked up. "What?"

"Well, I'm part of a group called the Chaotix. We were investigating those weird creatures that attacked the city. We eventually got caught in a battle. They told me to run and escape while I had the chance. I didn't hesitate and… they were captured" the bee explained.

Marine gasped. "I'm sorry."

The bee shook his head. "Don't be. Besides, I'm going to find them, no matter what!" He had determination in his eyes. The same kind of determination Marine had.

Clearing up her tears, Marine said "I'll help. I wanna get back at those things. And maybe I can help Ix."

The bee gave off a goofy grin. "Alright! We'll work together! Mighty always said you can't do things alone." He extended his hand. "I'm Charmy Bee."

Marine took the hand and shook it. "I'm Marine."


	8. Sand Oasis

Chapter 8

The scene opens up to the desolate area known as Sand Oasis. As its name suggested, it was a desert of sorts, dotted with lakes and ancient architecture. It even had some plant life growing. At the moment, it was quiet and empty. But not for long.

Under the beating sun, two Egg Pawns appeared on either side of another Twilight Bomb. They placed their hands into the slots and pulled the bomb open. As the counter began to tick, the robots shut themselves down, as if they were aware that they were doomed anyway. Soon, it went off, the blue sphere sucking up anything nearby.

On the other side of the oasis, stood an Arabian palace. On the balcony, watching the sphere, was a human. Well, sort of. She had human features, but she had pointy ears. She had pink hair that coiled upwards and wore a purple strapless shirt, white trousers, pink sandals and she had gold bracelets round her wrists and a necklace to match. She stared at what was unfolding with horror.

"What kind of sorcery is this?" she asked herself.

Squinting, she saw the Ancient Minister, who had another Twilight Bomb. The floating commander then spoke.

"Attention, inhabitants of Sand Oasis! I am the Ancient Minister and I bring with me the Twilight Army. I wish to negotiate!"

With no one else around, the human girl spoke up, although she had to speak extra loud to be heard.

"I am Shahra, genie of the ring. What do you want to negotiate about?" she asked.

"I advise you leave this place. This bomb will be set off soon and take another portion of your home with it. If you leave now, you won't be harmed in any way" the minister said.

Shahra was slightly taken aback. "I refuse to abandon this place."

The Ancient Minister seemed to sigh. "Very well. Nightmares, attack!" he said, sweeping away as an army of the neon creatures appeared from the ground.

Feeling slightly nervous, Shahra drew an Arabian style sword that had a gold blade and handle to match.

"Very well. Prepare yourselves!" she said, teleporting herself down to the battlefield.

One Nightmare made a jump for her but the genie effortlessly swiped it away with her sword. Another tried to do the same but met with the same fate.

"This is too easy" Shahra said to herself, unaware of the Dark Eel that appeared behind her. It swiped her with its head, knocking her into the sand. After spitting some that got in her mouth, she turned to see the eel charge at her by jumping from the sand and aiming down at her. Panicking, Shahra teleported again to avoid the collision.

When she reappeared, she was met with a battalion of the small, spherical ones that floated, which we'll call Fears.

"I don't know what you monsters are, but I will fight!" she declared, attacking swiftly. But the Fears were swifter and dodged her swipe. They began to charge at her, whacking into her. She tried swatting them away but they kept coming back.

"Ugh," she groaned. "They're so annoying."

As she readied her sword to try and make another assault the eel from earlier appeared behind her, growling. She cried in fear and ducked as it fired a purple orb at her. However, it missed and hit the Fears that were about to make another attack. Seeing this, Shahra quickly swung round with her sword, cutting the eel in half. She stared as it dissolved into pink spores.

"Weird. I've never seen creatures such as this" she said. "They're worse than the djinns."

Suddenly, she heard a thumping noise. Turning, she came face to face with a Titan. She was in too much shock to dodge the club it swung at her. It sent her flying through the air but before she crashed, she managed to stop herself and hover gently above the ground.

"How am I supposed to beat that?" she asked. Things got worse when she saw the rest of the army that was following her. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Fighting wasn't as easy as others made it seem. Just before the Titan could crush her, she turned herself into a pink ball and sped off into the distance.

* * *

She soon came to rest in an area that was empty. No Nightmares or anything. Turning back into the regular form, she slumped to the ground in disappointment.

"I can't believe I just ran like that. I should never have taken up swordsmanship" she sighed, chucking her sword away.

"I'll never be a real fighter." She began to notice a strange presence. Turning her head, she realised she was near the site of the Twilight Bomb that went off earlier. She stared at the blue sphere, which sent a shiver down her spine.

"What is going on here exactly?" she whispered to herself.

She then heard a noise. It was sudden and quick. Quickly getting up, Shahra began to survey the area, but she couldn't see anyone. She was about to think she was imagining it when she heard some sand shift and turned to see someone charging at her. She rolled to the side to avoid it and grabbed her sword.

"Who's there?" she asked, trying to sound confident.

The figure didn't answer, simply charging at her. Shahra instinctively raised her sword to block. But the figure then vanished. She wasn't sure what happened until she heard a whoosh from behind.

She spun round and blocked her attacker. It then began to throw a flurry of punches and kicks but the genie managed to block every one of them before striking out, forcing the figure to flip back and take a quick breather. Now, Shahra had a good look at the attacker.

He was a black hedgehog with red highlights in his quills. He had white skates with red on them and gold rings round his wrists, as well as white gloves and chest fur.

"I'll ask again. Who are you?" questioned Shahra.

The figure stood up straight as he spoke. "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog! Now die!"

Shadow reeled his hand back and yellow arrows materialised in the air. Shahra wasn't sure what was happening but began to charge up some magic in her hand, condensing it into a ball.

Narrowing his eyes, Shadow yelled "Chaos Spear!"

Shahra responded by releasing her magic. The two attacks shot past each other and hit their targets. The Nightmares that stood behind both of them. Both confused, they turned round in time to see the monsters being reduced to spheres.

"You're not one of them?" Shahra asked.

"Neither are you" said Shadow, walking towards her. "It appears we've had a misunderstanding."

Shahra nodded. "Do you think you can explain what's happening?"

Shadow pointed towards the huge blue sphere that was expanding. "That is the work of the Twilight Army. Their goal is to plant bombs round the world and detonate them so they rip up the world and drag it into the Twilight Realm. The Ancient Minister appears to be one of the commanders but their true master is the Twilight Emperor" the black hedgehog explained.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Shahra.

"I came here because that minister has answers. They're using the Black Comet as their flagship, so _he's _connected with this" he growled with disdain. "They've also captured my friend, Omega. And if they've done anything to him, I'll be very unhappy."

The look in his eyes was enough to convince Shahra. "In that case, I'll help. I won't stand by and watch this world burn."

Shadow raised an eyebrow but the nodded. "Very well. But first…" He trailed off as Nightmares began to appear round them.

"Time for some pest control!" he growled. "Chaos Control!" Suddenly in a flash of blue, Shadow vanished and began to teleport around the enemies, smashing his fists and legs into them, one by one. Shahra was stunned by his power.

It didn't take long till they were all gone. Shadow dusted his hands off. "Hmph, not even a challenge" he mocked, unaware of the Titan behind him.

"Shadow, look out!" Shahra cried, jumping over him and jabbing her sword into the monster's face. Roaring, the beast swung about, trying to shake her off since she still held onto the sword, being unable to take it out.

"Shadow! A little help, please?" she wailed.

Shadow jumped into action, firing some Chaos Spears into the giant's legs, causing it to topple slightly. Shahra managed to wiggle the sword free and left it to Shadow, who teleported above the Titan and began to repeatedly punch and kick it until it finally fell over and died.

As he landed, he turned to the genie. "I suppose I should thank you, uh…"

Shahra sighed. "My name is Shahra. And you're welcome."

Shadow nodded before noticing something. "There he is!" he cried, pointing.

Shahra followed his finger, seeing the Ancient Minister float by with a Twilight Bomb.

"We can't let him detonate another one!" he said, speeding off after him. Shahra was taken aback by how fast he was going but quickly followed haste.

* * *

The two soon caught up with him. The minister tilted his head so he could see his pursuers.

"More heroes? That's all we need" he moaned.

"I don't know who you are but what you're doing is evil and for that," Shahra declared, brandishing her sword, "You must be stopped!"

The genie jumped and swung her sword at him but the minister tilted away to avoid it. He then saw Shadow make a lunge for him.

"I've got you!" he cried before a laser appeared from the minister's platform and shot him.

"Shadow!" Shahra cried, worried for her companion.

"I'm OK. I've had worse injuries" Shadow groaned, glaring at the minister. "Where's Omega?" he yelled after him.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the minister said, darkly as he continued to float away, unaware of the double-edged gold sword that appeared behind him.

"Hiya!" someone yelled, using the sword to slice the chain holding the bomb. The Ancient Minister sped off into the distance like a balloon losing air. The bomb crashed, clearly broken and unusable as the figure followed suit. Shahra and Shadow caught up to see who it was and Shahra's eyes widened.

The figure looked human but like Shahra, he wasn't. He had purple skin and red markings on his body. His hair was coiled as well but it was red. He had brown Arabian shoes, white trousers and a brown cape, along with gold gauntlets on his wrists.

"Erazor Djinn!" Shahra cried.

Erazor turned to the voice and smirked. "Shahra my dear. How long has it been?"

"Not long enough!" she scowled.

Shadow stared at Erazor. "Who's this guy?"

"I'm Erazor Djinn, the genie of the Lamp" the genie introduced himself until Shahra cut in.

"He was forced to grant the wishes of a thousand people. When he did, he planned to take over the world until someone stopped him" she explained.

"As much as I'd like to slaughter the blue rat" said Erazor, "There are much more pressing matters at hand, as I'm sure Shadow would agree."

Shadow jumped slightly. "How do you know my name?" he demanded.

Erazor seemed to scoff. "Black Doom told me."

"You know Black Doom? How?" Shadow asked.

"We were commanders of the Twilight Army, until he discovered something unimaginable. He didn't tell me but simply said that we're all in danger" Erazor explained. "He told me to find you and assist you in retrieving the Black Comet. I believe your robot friend is being held captive there."

Shadow clenched his fists. "Why should we trust you?" he asked.

"Because you don't have a choice" Erazor smirked.

Shahra didn't seem willing to join him but even she knew that they didn't have a choice.

"Fine" said Shadow. "Let's go. I bet the minister has already fled." So, the band of three took off, following the Ancient Minister's trail.

* * *

In another area, far away from Sand Oasis but near Green Hill Zone, stood a lone figure. He was a hulking, grey albatross with white chest feathers, orange gloves, grey shoes, and a pair of goggles on his head, a necklace of sorts round his neck and flame tattoos on his wrists.

"OK, the boss said to find any info" he said to himself. "But what info did he mean?"

He stood there, scratching his head in confusement. He then heard noises and saw a creature appear. It was an alien of sorts with black sin, bulbous yellow eyes and red arms and legs.

"What is this thing?" he asked himself. "Doesn't matter. I'll just pummel it and take it to the boss!" he said, bashing his fists together.

But the alien simply stared at him. The albatross got out of his fighting stance and stared back, unaware of the shadow that fell over him.

"What's with this thing?" he asked himself. He prodded it slightly. "May as well take it to the boss."

"I believe it is you who will be taken by me! Swift Strike!" a raspy voice yelled. Before the albatross could react, a purple boomerang like thing hit him into the air. When he came back down, he was a trophy. The attacker picked it up with pride.

He was a black alien as well but he floated above the ground due to lack of legs. His hands had three claws instead of fingers. He also had three red eyes and a robe adorned with chains and spiked ornaments.

"Yes, he will do perfectly" he said to the other alien as more appeared. Then, a revving sound was heard.

"Quick, he's coming!" he cried, dropping the trophy and vanishing along with the aliens.

The revving sound was coming from a green platform that had a mechanical arm on the back. It was similar to the one Eggman had only it was being driven by Scourge and carried the trophies of Blaze and Ix.

"Man, this job is the best" the hedgehog said to himself. He then noticed the trophy of the albatross. Stopping the platform, he jumped off and looked at it.

"Hm, I don't recognize this bird but it doesn't hurt to bring him in" he said, picking the trophy up. "I can't help but feel this is too easy."

Suddenly, the black aliens came out in swarms and tackled Scourge to the ground, taking the trophy.

"Hey! What's going on? Get off me!" Scourge yelled.

One of the aliens placed the trophy on the platform that Scourge had and the leader alien grabbed the handle and spun it round.

"Thanks for the trophies, Scourge!" he called, retreating as he did. The aliens attacking Scourge left as well, letting the pirate get back up.

Shaking his head, he stared at where his trophies were with shock. "What the…"

He then saw the leader in the distance and he began to jump up and down in anger.

"Black Doom! You three eyed traitor! Get back here! I'll rip your insides out and feed them to the Nightmares when I get hold of you!" he threatened but Black Doom simply ignored the threats and took off into the distance.


	9. Mystic Ruins

Chapter 9

The scene shifts to a forest area known as the Mystic Ruins. It was dense and thick, as well as being the site of an ancient temple. It was surprisingly peaceful despite the recent events and only one person was in here.

Walking through the forest was a young hedgehog with white fur and quills that arched up plus two more that stuck out behind. He wore gold cuffs around his wrists and legs. His boots were indigo coloured with teal tips. A white line went down the middle whilst a red adornment rested on the top of them. His gloves also had a cyan circle that have a line going down to the cuff.

"There's nothing better than a relaxing walk through the forest" he said to himself, stretching out. "I do wonder how Blaze is. I haven't written to her in ages. Maybe I should stop travelling and look for her."

As he was lost in thought, he walked past a stump where another creature slept on. He was a small dog-like creature with red fur, white paws and feet with a tuft of white hair on his head. He also had fairy-like wings and a necklace with a green orb around his neck. He too was lost in his own world as he slept.

"No… I can't… eat another bite" he mumbled. This mumbling attracted the hedgehog's attention and he approached the small puppy.

"Hey, are you OK?" he asked, cautiously. All he got in response was "Mmm… chocolate."

Rolling his eyes, he prodded the little creature, causing it to stir. "I said are you OK?" he asked again.

The creature opened his eyes and stared at the hedgehog. There was nothing but silence for a split second before the creature screamed and hid behind the stump.

"Don't eat me!" he wailed. "I taste real bad!"

The hedgehog looked disgusted. "Why would I eat you? I only asked if you were OK."

The small dog, realising he was safe, emerged from his hiding place with a friendly smile. "Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. By the way, who are you?"

The hedgehog returned the smile and introduced himself. "I'm Silver the Hedgehog. What about you?"

The dog opened his mouth but then stopped. "Hm? What is my name? Ahhhh! I can't remember!" he cried in horror.

Silver was also taken aback. "What? You forgot who you are?"

The dog nodded. "Yeah. I can't remember anything except… yeah; I remember seeing these wings spread out in front of me. Then, yellow lights burst from it at me. But, something got in the way. It roared and next thing I knew, I was here on the stump" he explained.

Silver began to look thoughtful. "I don't think I can help you there, but maybe we can find someone who knows you."

The dog was surprised. "You'd help me get my memory back?"

Silver nodded, causing the little dog to do somersaults in the air. "Oh thank you so much, Silver. You're the best friend I've ever had."

The white hedgehog couldn't help but chuckle at his new friend's antics. "Well, first things first, I need to give you a name. I'm gonna have to call you something. How about… Mutt?"

The dog raised an eyebrow.

"Don't like that huh? OK… Navi!"

"Do I look like a fairy?" the dog asked, seeming slightly offended, prompting Silver to raise his hands in defense.

"Fine, I'll try something normal. Um, Chris?" the hedgehog suggested. Before the dog could mull it over, they heard an inhumane scream.

* * *

In the real world, Babylon Sky Hawk could be seen yelling down the phone to The Brawler.

"You are NOT doing that to me!" he demanded.

"Ok, calm down, I'll go change that" The Brawler replied, before hanging up.

* * *

Back to Silver and the dog. "What the hell just happened?" Silver asked, looking quite scared.

"I think we just broke the fourth wall" the dog replied. "Boy, this is making me hungry" he said before pulling a bar of chocolate put of nowhere and taking a bite out of it. Silver was about to ask how he did that before coming to a conclusion.

"I've got it! I'll call you Chip!"

The dog thought about it before saying "Yeah, Chip. I love it!"

Silver sighed in relief. "Right, now that we've got that settled, let's get going."

And so, with the newly named Chip in tow, they set off to find anyone who might know the forgetful pup.

* * *

After nearly half an hour of travelling, they had found themselves near the temple mentioned earlier. Chip was exhausted and sat on the wall whilst Silver lent on it.

"We shouldn't be too far from the exit" Silver remarked. "Sooner or later, we're bound to find someone who would know you."

But Chip wasn't listening. He was staring at the engravings on the temple's side. They depicted a dragon-like creature spreading its arms out whilst weird looking creatures spread out attacking people. Chip couldn't help but feel it looked familiar.

"Chip? What's the matter?" the hedgehog asked, breaking Chip out of his trance.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just trying to remember" he replied. He looked up into the sky, marvelling at how beautiful it was. Then the red clouds came.

"Is that natural?" he asked while pointing at the sky. Silver looked up and became confused.

"No, that's far from normal" he stated. Next thing he knew, the Black Comet appeared and purple spores fell from it, taking form of the Nightmares.

"What are these things?" Silver gasped while Chip stared.

"I've seen them before" whispered Chip. "But where?"

The Nightmare at the front then spoke. "We serve the Twilight Emperor. You shall be destroyed."

"Heh. I'd like to see you try" Silver replied, with a cocky grin. The first Nightmare charged but Silver simply held his hand out. Suddenly, the creature stopped in its tracks, a green aura encasing it. Silver then sent a shockwave out of his hand, sending the monster crashing into one of its comrades.

Chip flew up to him in astonishment. "How'd you do that?" he asked.

"I'm psychic. I can pick up things with my mind" Silver explained, making a nearby rock float before hurling it at another Nightmare. Now that they knew that Silver was a threat, the monsters attacked. Chip, knowing he couldn't fight, flew to safety, leaving Silver to handle the creatures.

"Alright, let's do this!"

The first one jumped at him but he easily grabbed it in mid-air and flung it into a tree. The next one sent its arm at him. Silver was slightly taken aback and managed to dodge it in the nick of time, the stretchy arm grazing his cheek. Another one was already behind him but he flipped over it, picking it up and launching it at the other one, killing them both.

"Heh, this is too easy" Silver remarked, before being thrown up into the air by a Dark Eel. It fired purple orbs at him but he pulled up a shield in mid-air, protecting him. When he landed, another orb was fired at him but he managed to grab it with his powers and send it back. But the eel dodged underground, letting the cluster of Nightmares behind it take the hit.

"Where'd it go?" he wondered, looking for any sign of it coming back. Chip, who was watching the ordeal, noticed a dark patch of earth behind Silver. It took him a second to realise what it was.

"Silver! Behind you!"

The psychic hedgehog turned round in time to grab the eel that had jumped from behind. He flung it into one of the trees, causing it to topple and take out some more of the Nightmares.

"These guys are pathetic" he said, noticing the remaining ones surrounding him.

"Oh, you're not done yet? Well, how about this!" he cried, jumping into the air before placing his hand firmly on the ground. A shockwave rippled across the ground, paralyzing the creatures.

"And now, for the big finale!" the hedgehog yelled, crossing his arms in an X formation as a green aura completely covered him. He began to levitate a few centimetres off the ground before throwing his arms out.

"PSYCHIC OVERLOAD!!!"

Suddenly, a green flash of energy erupted from Silver's body, knocking all the monsters into the air or into the trees. They were destroyed instantly. Chip remained where he was, his eyes widened at what he saw.

Silver, however, had used a lot of energy in that attack and fell to one knee. "Note to self, don't do that again."

As he tried to get his breath back, he failed to notice the shadow that fell over him. It wasn't until he heard a roar that he turned his head to see a Big Mother staring directly back at him. He tried picking it up with his mind but he didn't have the strength to do it. The monster raised its foot, prepared to squash Silver like a bug when Chip flew in front of him with his arms outstretched.

"Stay back! I won't let you hurt him!" he called but the monster didn't seem to care. After all, it was only a small dog. But before it could attack, the necklace Chip had glowed, causing the creature to flinch. Silver covered his eyes as well and when he opened them, the Big Mother was gone.

"How did you do that?" Silver asked but Chip seemed confused.

"I don't know. I just wanted to protect you and my necklace began to glow. Next thing I knew, the monster was gone" he replied honestly.

Silver became thoughtful again. "Maybe that has something to do with who you are." His attention was then taken back to the Black Comet as it began to drift away.

"But I don't like what I see. Come on, let's see where that thing's headed and find out who this Twilight Emperor is" he suggested to his friend. Chip nodded in determination and the two took off.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the comet itself, the Nightmares were patrolling the corridors. The inside of it looked like the inside of a temple, with numerous ledges. There were lakes of purple water and floating platforms hovered in the air. There were even purple tentacles sticking out the walls and strange markings on the walls. It was almost alien.

The Nightmares had been given orders to kill anyone who snuck aboard and they probably would've done. But someone was already on there. As a Nightmare passed by, something shimmered on the wall. A strange outline was present and it looked like it was making sure it wasn't seen.

"OK, I'm onboard. Now to find somewhere safe until someone else arrives" it said, slowly making its way to find somewhere to hide.


	10. Eggman's Base Part 1

Chapter 10

In an unknown location stood a multitude of giant red domes. They had Egg Pawns patrolling the outside and sentry turrets surrounding them. They also had a black symbol on the side of them resembling Eggman's face. So prizes for guessing what it was then. This was Eggman's base, built to assist the Twilight Emperor and his army.

The insides were gleaming white with strange blue lighting. Egg Pawns were here as well to make sure no intruders got in or out. Their orders were simple: kill anyone who got in.

* * *

In one of the many room stood the doctor himself, with Ergo on a desk nearby. Eggman was pressing a few buttons on a keyboard and looked up to the giant screen. It was a map of the whole world and two bleeping dots could be seen. Eggman zoomed in on them and enlarged the images. They were Amy and Metal Sonic.

"I've pinpointed their location!" Eggman punched the air in delight. He turned round and grabbed his Dark Cannon. "It's time to capture that love-crazed dolt and maybe dismantle the traitor in the process" he chuckled evilly.

"But Doctor," Ergo spoke, "What if someone breaks in during your absence?"

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Ergo, this place is surrounded by my finest robots. Plus there are sentry turrets and robots inside. What are the odds of someone breaking in without getting brutally killed?"

Ergo's eyes began to flash before stating "95%."

Naturally, this ticked Eggman off. He slapped the robot round the face, forcing it to shut down. "Don't know why I built him" he mumbled before leaving.

* * *

A few hours later, an air duct inside Eggman's room began to creak slightly. Suddenly, it dropped off the ceiling and onto the floor, making a clatter. A figure followed after it, landing perfectly.

She was an orange echidna with a peach coloured muzzle, lilac eyes, seven dreadlocks and a zig-zag tail. She was wearing a black shirt with trousers and shoes to match. Her gloves were the same but they had silver bracelets round them. She also had a black headband with a glowing purple symbol.

"OK, I'm in Eggman's base. Now what?" she asked herself. She pulled out a strange looking device that must've been some sort of a detector. It was beeping.

"The signal is not too far from here" she said. She went to the door and it slid open. It was so fast that the echidna nearly jumped when she saw a robot standing there. Fortunately, it had its back to her. An idea seemed to come to her because she quickly grabbed the robot and pulled it in. All that could be heard were a few tinkering sounds.

* * *

A few minutes later, the robot walked back out as if nothing had happened. It began to march down the corridor, walking past its fellow kind before coming to a door. It then pulled out the device the echidna had and noticed it was beeping much faster. Putting it back, it walked in.

The room was almost pitch black so the echidna found it hard trying to get the remains of the robot off of her. "Worked like a charm. That doctor really needs better security" she said. "Now, to find out what Ix has to do with this."

She began to walk forward, keeping up her guard for anything that might jump out. Suddenly, a green flash came from opposite. Interested, she edged closer when it suddenly stopped. She carried on and saw something that made her jaw drop.

It was a yellow robot that was taller than the Egg Pawns. It had large blue eyes, brown hands and sections of it were orange, particularly the crest on its forehead. It was almost humanoid. What's more, it was being held in a glass case with its head held down. As the echidna approached it, its head rose. The echidna could've sworn it said "Help me."

"Emerl" she gasped. "What have they done to you?"

Suddenly, Emerl began to get electrocuted. This was the green flash she saw. The robot seemed to scream in pain. The echidna's look of horror was replaced with a cold look as she launched her foot at the glass. Surprisingly it broke but as soon as it did, the alarms went off.

Suddenly, the door slid open to reveal a small group of the pawns. The one at the front focused its sights on the two.

"Targets detected. Identified as Emerl the Gizoid and Shade the Echidna of the Nocturnus Tribe!" it blared.

"Stand back, Emerl" Shade ordered. Suddenly, a weird purple blade materialized in her hand. She launched forward and sliced down the robot at the front with one swipe. It fell in two, making the other robots seem almost frightened. That's when they pulled their guns out.

"Uh oh" Shade muttered, before turning tail and running back to Emerl. She noticed his eyes were glowing as they focused on the approaching robots. Suddenly, Emerl's arm changed into the guns that the robots had and began to rapidly fire taking out the entire group. Shade seemed stunned when she remembered that Gizoids can copy abilities.

"Thanks a lot" she said. Emerl turned to her. He then began to scan Shade. "There's not much point" she said. "My suit was taken from me." Once Emerl had finished scanning, he began to speak.

"We'd best continue this conversation later" he stated in a business like way. Shade rolled her eyes. Now Emerl had copied her personality. At least they'd be agreeable.

"Right. Let's get back to Eggman's lab. He may have some info. Plus it's safe" she explained. They walked through the door, checked to see if anything was out there before leaving. They quickly moved back to where Shade entered when more robots dropped from the ceiling.

"It's never easy" she sighed before drawing out her Leech Blade. Emerl followed suit, but his blade was light blue.

Shade was the first to attack, quickly striking the robot closest with her foot. It stumbled back and wasn't prepared for the punch from Emerl. It fell to the ground and squirmed there like a turtle on its back.

One robot charged forward with a gun but Shade effortlessly grabbed its wrist and snapped it off before kicking the robot away. From behind, one robot with a lance clobbered her round the head. It was ready to impale her but Shade twisted to avoid the jab and attacked it with her blade. Suddenly, Shade's injury healed whilst the robot shut down.

"They may be evil but we made some good technology" Shade said.

"Focus on the task at hand!" Emerl shouted, changing his hand into a lance and impaling a whole line of robots with it before slamming them into the wall. He removed the lance and turned it back to normal but one robot had shot at him. The bullet got his shoulder and made him slump to the ground. The pawn seemed ready to finish him off when Shade jumped on it and slammed her fist into its head. Emerl quickly got out his Leech Blade and struck the robot, draining its energy before it blew up.

One robot remained and it was carrying two guns. It seemed to have a smug look but Shade and Emerl glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. The echidna then threw a smoke bomb, blocking the pawn's view. Then, out of the smoke came Shade and Emerl, their Leech Blades drawn. They knocked the robot up into the air before jumping after it and bashing it back down onto the robot on its back, destroying them both. Once they landed, they sped to the lab before they were spotted.

"OK, now that that's over" Shade began before turning to Emerl, "How did you get here?"

"I was in the Twilight Realm when I was approached by a weird-looking hedgehog. He said he could help me escape but I was sent here and used as a power source" the Gizoid explained.

"A power source? What for?" Shade asked but Emerl shrugged.

"I don't know but I advise we leave before we get discovered again" he said.

Shade shook her head before turning to the computer. After a few taps on the keyboard, she got access to the CCTV footage. On one camera was a suit being held in a glass case similar to Emerl's.

"I was ambushed by some weird neon creatures and I had to leave my suit behind to escape them. Without my suit, I can barely do anything to stop Ix" she said. "We have to find it."

"Ix isn't the one we need to worry about" Emerl stated. "From what I heard, he has betrayed the Twilight Emperor."

Shade looked bewildered. "Ix isn't behind all this? Then who is the Twilight Emperor?"

Emerl shrugged again. Shade accepted this before making her way towards the door but Emerl's voice stopped her.

"Why did you leave, Shade? Why did you abandon me?" he asked.

Shad held her head down. "I'm sorry, Emerl. I wanted to escape that nightmarish place so badly. When I found the chance I had to leave. I didn't mean to leave you behind." She then turned to face him. "Will you help me or not?"

Emerl nodded and the two left the room.


	11. Never Lake

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Chapter 11

The scene opens up to an empty green plain that had naught but a giant lake with nearby rock pillars. It was known as Never Lake. A fair distance from the lake, Metal Sonic and Amy had just landed after leaving Babylon Garden.

"Where are we?" asked Amy as she scanned the horizon.

Metal chuckled slightly. "I'm surprised you don't remember. This is where I kidnapped you and where I began my rivalry with Sonic."

Now Amy remembered. "Never Lake? Wow, I never thought I'd be back here."

"Well, I'll leave you to reminisce" said Metal before leaving.

Amy shouted after him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find this Twilight Emperor and destroy him" the robot said bluntly.

"But what about finding Sonic and rescuing Blaze?" asked Amy.

"That doesn't really concern me" was the reply. Then, Metal dashed off, leaving a very annoyed Amy.

"Hmph, fine. Be a jerk! I don't need your help!" she shouted, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh, you'll need help soon enough."

Amy turned in shock to face the voice but was met with a black arrow threw the chest. In a flash of light, she became a trophy. Eggman sneered at the fallen girl.

"Ha ha! That was far too easy!" he laughed.

Suddenly, Ergo appeared next to the doctor. "Doctor! I have received news that Sonic and a mongoose girl are nearby.

"Hm, I've got an idea!" Eggman said, beckoning over a clone of himself. It was exactly like the one Tails and Rouge fought.

"Change of plan" he said simply, pointing at Amy's trophy. Suddenly, the clone broke apart into purple spheres which began to surround the trophy.

* * *

Back with Metal, he was moving at a very fast pace. He planned to find one of the Nightmares and interrogate them but right now, there was not an enemy in sight.

"This is just great. The one time I want to get attacked and…" he began but cut himself off when he saw something in the distance. He zoomed in on it and saw Black Doom with the trophies he stole.

"That alien… maybe he knows something" he thought as he begun to chase him.

* * *

Meanwhile, over some hills, Sonic and Mina were running as fast as they could. Well, Mina was. Sonic had decided to slow down slightly so she could keep up.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" the mongoose asked, showing signs of tiredness.

"Positive" Sonic replied, "I saw that minister guy go this way."

As they talked, Amy could be seen a few feet away. But she had a purple aura around her and yellow eyes. She then pulled out a Dark Cannon and began to charge it up. She was about to fire when she was knocked back by something. The cannon that she dropped when levitated and caved in on itself. The doppelganger turned to face Silver and Chip.

"Who's she?" the curious dog asked.

"It's Amy, a friend of mine" Silver answered, "But there's something not right."

The Amy clone then pulled out her hammer. "Definitely something not right."

Amy jumped forward and slammed her hammer down but Silver jumped out of the way He tried to pick something up to use as a projectile but, to his horror, there was nothing he could use.

"Oh, this isn't good!" he cried as Amy turned to face him with her hammer held in a threatening manner. With no other option, the psychonetic hedgehog ran.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get very far as Amy was faster than him. She slammed her hammer into his back, knocking him forward. As he pushed himself back up, she jumped in front of him and smacked him up into the air.

He spun in the air and saw Amy holding her hammer like a baseball bat. Quickly, he landed behind her and sent out a shockwave to knock her forward. She was about to turn and attack when Silver held out his hand and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Heh. Not as hard as I thought it would be" smirked Silver.

"HEY SILVER!!!"

Suddenly, Chip came out of nowhere and accidentally flew into Silver, causing him to release the dark clone. In a flash, she jumped forward and swung her hammer. But, she missed Silver and hit Chip instead. He saw sent flying over a nearby hill.

"Chip! Oh you're so gonna pay for that!" Silver said angrily.

He recklessly leaped forward but was knocked to the side by Amy's hammer. She slammed her hammer down but once more, the white hedgehog rolled out of the way to avoid it. The hammer left an indent in the ground causing Silver to gulp.

Amy began to swing her hammer vibrantly, not giving Silver a chance to attack. The hedgehog was forced to play defensive as he dodged every swing. He finally got the opportunity to leap back but he ended up tripping and fell down a slope. He landed near the lake and saw Chip holding his head whilst his eyes rolled.

"Chip, are you OK?" he asked.

"I'm fine but… Look out!"

Silver swung round and saw the clone coming towards him. She then threw her hammer like a boomerang but Silver instantly held it in mid-air.

"Let's see how you like it!" he cried, sending it back. The hammer went too fast for Amy to catch and it slammed into her face. Silver saw this as an opportunity. He grabbed her and dragged her down the hill before sending her up into the air. He then jumped after her and began to charge his hand with green energy. As he was above her, he thrust his hand out, sending a huge psychic shockwave out. It sent the clone crashing into the ground, kicking up a huge mound of dirt. As Silver landed, all that was left was a trophy.

"Well, that takes care of that" said Silver as he dusted his hands off.

"Silver, look!" Chip pointed as the trophy evaporated into pink spheres. "A fake?" the dog suggested.

"I guess it must've been. I doubt Amy would attack for no reason" Silver concluded.

"So, now what?" Chip asked, unaware of the dark blur zooming towards them.

* * *

Several minutes before, on the other side of the lake, Sonic and Mina had come to a stop so the mongoose could catch her breath.

"I'm sorry, Sonic" she panted. "I can't keep running like this."

"It's OK" Sonic replied. He then noticed where they were. "Heh. This is Never Lake. I'm surprised I didn't realise it."

"Have you been her before?" Mina asked.

"Yep. This was where I met Amy and Metal for the first time. What happened was…" he started but was interrupted by a loud crashing sound. He turned towards the source which was the other side of the lake and squinted to see Silver and Chip surrounding Amy's trophy.

"Silver? What's he doing here?" he asked himself. Then he saw Amy's trophy dissolve. "What the…? Amy!" He couldn't believe it. One of his close friends had just murdered the one girl he might've had feelings for. Anger rose up inside him.

"That traitor!" he growled, his fur turning black, his quills standing up and his eyes going blank.

"I'm going to KILL HIM!!!" That's when he dashed across the lake.

Sonic's echo travelled to Silver's ears, prompting him to turn round. "Huh?" He quickly jumped to the side to avoid the charge.

"Sonic? Is that you?" he asked.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!" was all Silver got, followed by an uppercut that sent Silver into one of the rock pillars in the lake. He crashed into it and fell into the lake. But Sonic zoomed in and pulled him out… by the neck.

"Sonic! What are you doing?" Silver gasped as Sonic floated there, choking him.

"You killed her and for that you must die!" Sonic roared. Silver's vision began to get blurry and it looked like it was over for him when Chip latched onto the back of Sonic's head.

"Get off of him!" he cried, yanking Sonic's fur. Of course, all that did was irritate the dark hedgehog. He swiftly reached round and grabbed Chip by his neck.

"You insect! I'll crush you too!" he roared. Chip looked scared out of his pants but his necklace began to glow, blinding Sonic. The light was so strong; he dropped both of his victims. Chip righted himself but Silver fell into the water.

"Silver!" cried Chip as he saw his friend drown. His necklace began to glow even more and Silver suddenly rose from the lake. His entire body was surrounded by a green aura as he hovered. It took a few seconds for him to realise what was going on.

"What the…? Why am I floating? And why do I feel more energised?" he thought. He then saw Chip's necklace. "Just what is with him?" he wondered but he couldn't think properly when Sonic punched him round the face. Silver righted himself in the sir as the two floating hedgehogs stared each other down.

"Sonic! Get a hold of yourself!" he tried to reason with his friend but Sonic was clearly not listening.

"I'm not going to listen to a traitor!" Sonic retorted, zooming towards Silver.

Quickly, Silver grabbed hold of Sonic in mid-air and sent him flying into a pillar. This angered Sonic even more, prompting him to charge again. This time, Silver met him dead on and the two began to exchange punches.

* * *

On the sidelines, Mina and Chip stared in awe.

"Come on Silver!" cried Chip.

"Sonic! What are you doing?" Mina yelled but her cries fell on deaf ears.

* * *

The two hedgehogs backed off for a while before Sonic began to spin towards Silver. The white hedgehog zoomed out of the way but Sonic managed to redirect his course and slam into Silver's back. The two were sent into the water with a splash. Complete silence fell over the area when Sonic was seen being thrown out of the water, followed by Silver, who caught the hedgehog in mid-air and flung him into one of the pillars.

"ARGH! That does it! I'm ending this now!" Sonic roared as he recklessly charged at Silver.

The psychic hedgehog had a smug look on his face. He twisted in the air to avoid the charge before placing his hand on Sonic's back and emitting a shockwave that sent Sonic crashing to the sidelines.

* * *

Mina saw Sonic get hit and rushed to the edge of the lake. "Don't worry, Sonic. I've got you!" she cried, intent on catching him but he was going too fast and he collided into her. The two fell to the ground as trophies. Both Silver and Chip floated towards them. Once Silver had landed, the green aura was gone.

"Why did that guy attack us?" asked Chip.

"My guess is that he thought we killed the real Amy" Silver deduced.

"So, what do we do with them?"

Silver was about to answer when they heard a revving sound. Suddenly, Black Doom zoomed by on the floating platform. Silver looked at it and recognised one of the trophies.

"Blaze!"

"Ah, what do we have here?" Black Doom questioned, sliding to a stop before going back the way he came. The mechanical arm on the back began to move and it snatched up the fallen trophies.

"These should do nicely" the alien leader said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

"Come back here!" cried Silver as he chased after him but he was moving too fast.

"Hah! You can't catch me!" mocked Black Doom.

"What about me?"

Black Doom's eyes widened as Metal Sonic leapt from the side, ripping the arm off. The two trophies fell through the air as Metal touched the bases, brining Sonic and Mina back to life.

"Ugh, what just happened?" asked Sonic before noticing Metal. "Metal? What's going on?"

"That!" Metal told him as he pointed to Black Doom who was clearly angry.

"You meddling machine! I'll take your head for that!" he roared as he charged at the small group. The three jumped out of the way as he rushed past.

Silver and Chip had managed to catch up but Silver was forced to grab Chip and pull him out of the way. Sonic and co ran up to them.

"Just what is going on?" Mina asked.

"That alien had Blaze's trophy! Come on!" Silver cried but Sonic held him back.

"Silver! What happened to me? When I saw Amy…" he began but Silver replied, "It was a fake. The real one is still out there."

"Uh oh" said Metal. "She must've been kidnapped when I left her."

"What?! Why I ought to…" Sonic raised a fist but Mina stopped him in time.

"Then let's rescue her" she suggested. "That alien might've taken her."

"Then let's go!" Sonic yelled, taking off after Black Doom. He grabbed hold of both Silver and Mina as Silver got hold of Chip. Metal could keep up so he followed.

* * *

As the five travelled, they talked about what they had done and realised they were all up against the same enemy. But not all of their questions had been answered. How did Black Doom get Blaze's trophy? Where was Amy? And Chip still couldn't remember anything. Their thoughts stopped short when they found themselves in a dark region, far from Never Lake.

"Where are we?" asked Chip, who was shaking slightly.

Mina took a quick look around. "There's nothing here, apart from that huge rock" she told them, pointing at a huge black rock.

"That's not just a rock" said Metal as he scanned it.

"Well what else could it be?" asked Sonic.

Metal answered by pointing at something in distance. "It's a part of that!" Behind some red clouds, the heroes could make out the outline of the Black Comet.

* * *

The scene shifts to a room that was encased in complete blackness. Here were loads of computer screens adorning the walls and they displayed different parts of the world. One screen was larger than the rest and an unknown figure stood in front of it as it turned itself on. Eggman's face appeared on it.

"What do you want?" he asked, almost disdainfully.

"I've received word from Scourge. Apparently, that traitor Black Doom ambushed him and stole his trophies" the figure explained.

"What?! He lost both Blaze and Ix?!" cried Eggman.

"Don't panic. I've traced his location. I'm sending you the coordinates now" the figure replied calmly.

"OK. I'll be sure to give him a warm welcome, Mephiles" Eggman said before the screen turned off.

We now see that the figure is a hedgehog, except his body was completely made from dark crystals. His muzzle was white and his eyes were purple with green irises. He had no mouth but by looking into his eyes you could tell he was smiling.


	12. Dusty Desert Part 1

**Read and review!**

Chapter 12

We now find ourselves in what appears to be a barren desert. All that could be seen was yellow sand. However, into the heart of it, stood what probably used to be an ancient civilization. Rocky pillars and old buildings still stood and, at the bottom of a pit, stood a temple with strange etchings on the walls. This place was known as Dusty Desert. And looking down at the temple were Marine and Charmy.

"Remind me again how we got here from the city?" asked Marine.

"I dunno" shrugged Charmy. Marine accepted this as an answer before noticing something fly over them. A squad of Fears were carrying a steel cage which contained a trophy depicting a crocodile with earphones and a chain round his neck.

"What's that?" she pointed at the cage, prompting Charmy to look up. His eyes widened.

"It's Vector!" he cried. The Fears descended towards the temple. "They're taking him there! Let's go!"

The two kids jumped over the edge and proceeded to descend. As the wind rushed past them, Marine said "Charmy. Why did we jump over the edge towards our death?"

Charmy opened his mouth to answer but then he realised he didn't have one. "ARGH!!! WE'REGONNADIE! WE'REGONNADIE! WE'REGONNADIE!!!" He wailed as they fell.

"Wait, you're a bee, aren'tcha, mate?" the raccoon asked.

"Yeah?"

"THEN FLY, YA DINGO!!"

"Oh yeah" Charmy chuckled slightly before grabbing Marine by the hand and fluttering his wings. They got down safely and Marine began to catch her breath.

"Can we do that again?" she asked.

Charmy thought for a while before saying "Maybe later."

They began to make their way towards the temple but they soon found themselves surrounded by Nightmares.

"Woah! Where did these buggers come from?" gasped Marine.

"I don't know but I don't like them! Take this!" Charmy dive-bombed at the nearest one with his stinger but it wrapped its arm round him before beginning to constrict the life out of him. Marine was quick to act and she fired a green energy blast which took it out. Now knowing these kids could fight, the neon creatures charged.

Marine ducked under one that leapt at her and fired a blast of energy at its back. She then darted round to smack another one in the face and finish it off with a knee to the gut.

"Ha! These things are losing their touch!" she mocked, blowing a raspberry at them. During her moment of distraction, A Dark Eel popped up from below her, sending her up in the air. As she fell down, it opened its mouth, ready to swallow her whole. Marine panicked and instinctively landed on top of it, her hands holding its gaping jaws apart.

"Hungry, are ya? Here, have a bite on this!" she said, firing one of her energy blasts down its throats. The explosion sent Marine back into the air but thankfully, a Nightmare broke her fall.

Charmy was weaving his way between the monsters as they attempted to grab him. "Ha ha. You can't catch me!" he chanted. One angry Nightmare made a grab for him but he flew over it and poked his stinger into it, making it seem to pop. The creatures surrounded him and attempted to tackle him. But he flew into the air once more, causing them to bump into each other. As they stood there dazed, Charmy landed between them and, with rapid succession, sent his stinger into their faces before they could fight back.

"Aw, this is getting boring" he whinged. The Nightmares seemed to hear him and they formed a singe file line before charging. At first, it looked like Charmy wouldn't be able to kill one before getting hit. But he had a smug grin on his face as he aimed his stinger and ploughed through them at amazing speed in a drilling formation. Once they dissolved into purple spores, Charmy looked quite pleased with himself.

"I won! I won!" he cheered, unaware of the Nightmare that smashed him into the ground.

"Charmy!" Marine cried, finishing off one monster before rushing to help her friend. The monster had Charmy pinned and seemed intent on devouring him. The young bee's eyes were filled with terror but fortunately Marine launched herself into its side, sending it skidding across the ground. It got up with intent to kill but Marine silenced with a well placed blast to the face.

"Boy, was that easy" stated Charmy.

"Well, of course. They're no match for Captain Marine and her trusty sidekick!" exclaimed Marine.

"Since when was I the sidekick?" argued Charmy.

"Don't talk back to your Captain, mate!" Marine cried.

"Captain of what?" Charmy questioned.

As the two argued, they failed to notice the large shadow that fell over them. It wasn't until they heard a roar that they stopped to look behind them. It was a Dark Titan. They blinked, glanced at each other then ran off screaming.

"Me first!" screamed Marine as she ran. Charmy however was in front of her since he could fly. Thankfully, the Titan was slow and could barely keep up. It slammed its wooden club and it caused a shockwave that knocked Marine over. She looked up to see it loom over and she was terrified by its size. She shut her eyes as she awaited death but Charmy saved her by jabbing his stinger into where the monster's eyes would be. It roared in pain as Charmy grabbed Marine's hands and they took off into the air.

"Thanks a lot, mate" Marine said.

Charmy smiled at her. "You're welcome. I'm not losing another friend!"

Marine smiled as well but then she noticed the Titan was still chasing them. "Does that thing ever quit?" she moaned.

Charmy bit his lip, trying to think of a way to shake it off. He then noticed that they were approaching the entrance to the temple and there were four pillars in a square formation. He suddenly got an idea.

"Marine! Shoot at that pillar nearby when I say so!" he informed his passenger.

Marine didn't ask why considering that there was a giant monster following them. Charmy was slowly running out of breath and they were beginning to descend. What's more, the Titan was getting closer. The looming beast stretched out its hand for them when Charmy gave the order.

"NOW!!!"

Marine fired an energy blast at the nearest pillar. It began to crack and it toppled over. The two kids ducked under it but the Titan was bonked on the head and crushed. It dissolved into a bunch of purple orbs. The two landed and cheered as they saw it fade away.

"Bonza mate! We sure showed him what for!" Marine said loudly as she jumped for joy.

Charmy was doing somersaults as well when he noticed the entrance to the temple.

"If Vector was taken in there, maybe Espio and Mighty are in there too" he thought out loud.

Marine began to casually stroll towards it. "Well, let's go and find out."

"Can't let you do that kiddies!"

The two jumped back as a green blur landed in front of them with a thud. It was Scourge. Marine gasped at the sight of him.

"You! You're the bugger who took Ix!" she accused.

"Sharp memory kid! I'm Scourge the Hedgehog! Be sure to keep it in mind!" the pirate told her.

"I'm gonna pay for what you did back in the city, you drongo!" Marine declared as her hand began to glow green.

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" mocked Scourge, laughing until he noticed Charmy.

"Hey, you're that bee that was with those stupid detectives" he exclaimed. This got Charmy riled up.

"They're not stupid! They're my best friends and I'm gonna rescue them!" he cried.

"Just try, you punk!" Scourge grinned as he got into a fighting stance. Marine lunged forward but Scourge side-stepped her reckless attack and elbowed her in the back.

"Please, give me a challenge!" Scourge moaned.

"CHARGE!!!"

Scourge turned round in time to see Charmy heading straight towards him, stinger extended. Scourge ducked and grabbed Charmy by the wing. The bee tried to squirm free but Scourge had a tight hold.

"You're not going anywhere" he grinned.

He raised a fist to pummel Charmy but Marine had come up behind him and fired an energy blast into his back. He was knocked forward, releasing Charmy. The bee then stung the pirate in the butt.

"OW! You little son of a…" he cried but Charmy smacked him across the face.

"Hey, Espio says that we should mind our language" he said, in an adult tone. This infuriated Scourge even more so he punched the bee in the stomach.

"I'm not going to lose some kids like you!" he snarled.

"You don't stand a chance against Captain Marine!" declared the raccoon.

"Oh we'll see about… Oh look! Ice cream!"

"WHERE?!" the two kids turned their heads with goofy looks on their faces. Marine was then sucker punched across the face.

"Hey, that's mean!" Charmy yelled.

"I'm a bad guy! It's what I do!" Scourge shouted back, seeming to get infuriated.

Charmy decided to go on the offensive and darted his stinger at the emerald green hedgehog. Scourge seemed to sweat slightly as he attempted to dodge the stinger. It nearly got him several times. It wasn't long until he was up against one of the pillars.

Charmy grinned wickedly. "I've got you now you bad person!" he cried.

Scourge seemed to panic but then a grin flashed across his face. "So what if you beat me? There are two other people beside me that are part of the Twilight Army and they're just as tough. Beating me won't help you against them and it won't help you rescue your friends!" he told the young bee.

Charmy slowed down his assault. Was Scourge right? There could be even stronger creatures to come. Could he stand up against them? Whilst in thought, Scourge grabbed his stinger, drawing the bee up close. He then pulled out a strange little trinket.

"This is my Piece of Eight. I once killed the leader of a colony with it! I haven't used it in a while so it might be rusty!" he sneered. Charmy was terrified and nearly wet himself with fear.

Meanwhile, Marine had just got up and saw Charmy about to be killed. "Crikey! I've gotta save him! I can't abandon him like I did to Ix" Marine thought. It was now or never. She began to charge up a large amount of energy in her hands as she rushed at Scourge.

"Any last words, kid?" asked Scourge. To his surprise, Charmy was smiling.

"Just two. Behind you."

Scourge turned and received the full force of Marine's attack. The charged up energy sent Scourge rocketing into the air towards the rock wall of the temple.

"Oh, you little…!" he was about to swear but he made contact with the wall with a deafening thud. Dust was knocked off the wall and a clunk was heard when Scourge's trophy fell to the floor.

"Oh yeah! I sure showed him!" cheered Marine. She danced about chanting how she was better when her eyes opened with realisation.

"Hold on, where's Ix?" she asked, looking around. There was no sign of the ancient echidna anywhere. Marine felt slightly downcast but Charmy came up to her with a grin on his face.

"Don't worry. He's probably safe somewhere" he told her.

* * *

We now see the inside of Black Doom's hideout. The room he was in had black walls with a rocky floor and ceiling. Purple tentacles streamed from the walls and strange markings adorned them. The alien himself was busy dusting off Ix's trophy, which he had placed between the albatross and Blaze.

"Perfect. These three should do for now" he said to himself. "Now for the final touch." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out two red badges that were shaped in a weird fashion (think of the logo for the Shadow game). He stuck one on the albatross, one on Ix and..

"What? I'm out?" Black Doom gasped. He then noticed that he was wearing one. "Ah. That's right." After some thinking, he took it off and placed it on Blaze. "It shouldn't matter. I can always make a spare."

He floated there admiring his work when he heard shuddering. Dust fell from above, causing him to look up. The ceiling began to crack and parts of it fell off. One huge chunk landed on top of the alien as he roared in panic.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" was all he could cry as the rubble collapsed on him. Even though it couldn't be seen, he had become a trophy. Once the ceiling had finished caving in, several robots jumped in. followed by Eggman who landed on his front.

"ARGH! That smarts!" he moaned as he clicked his back into place. "Now, where are those trophies?" He looked over the place, as did his robots. He then noticed something poking out of the rubble that made him grin. It was Blaze's trophy.


	13. Black Doom's Hideout

Chapter 13

Sonic, Mina, Metal, Silver and Chip made their way through the giant rock's passageways as quickly as they could. They didn't have a moment to lose. Who knew what Black Doom was planning? The problem was they had been running for ages.

"Sonic, are you sure you know where we're going?" asked Chip, who seemed to be panting.

"Of course I do" said Sonic. "I have a good feeling about this passage. Call it pigeon's instinct."

Mina sighed. "Typical man."

"I have to put up with this all the time" whispered Silver.

"Guys, look at this" Metal called to them. He was standing in front of a huge black door that seemed to glow ominously. Sonic, with a familiar grin on his face, stepped towards it.

"OK, guys. I bet you anything that Black Doom is right through this…" he started to say as he pushed the door open only to finish by saying "…huge pile of rubble?"

Indeed, all that was in the room was a large mound of rock with a giant hole in the ceiling. The group of five looked all over the room in the hopes of finding something but to no avail.

"What could've happened here?" asked Mina as they regrouped.

Metal stared at the pile for a while. "My guess is somebody got to Doom before we did. They obviously made themselves a shortcut." He indicated to the gaping hole above them.

"So then, where did he go?" Silver wondered. As they assessed the situation, Chip became distracted by something on the wall. It appeared to be a mural. It depicted the same dragon feature he saw on the temple in the Mystic Ruins, except this one seemed kinder and people appeared to be dancing around it. Chip couldn't help but feel he'd seen it before.

"Chip? Are you OK?" Silver asked, concerned for the dog's well being.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just feel that I've seen this before" he explained, gesturing towards the mural.

"Weren't you looking at that in the Mystic Ruins?" the white hedgehog asked.

"No, it's different… and familiar" Chip told him, seeming to drift off.

"What's with him?" asked Metal.

"He's got amnesia and I promised him I'd help him find someone who knows him" Silver told him.

"I was wondering why he was with us, considering he can't help us against the Twilight Army" Metal said.

"Hey, so what if he can't fight? He's staying with us!" Silver retaliated.

"This pointless pup can find his own way home! Right now we need hardened warriors" exclaimed the robot.

"I don't care! He stays!" Silver repeated.

"He's useless! If you think he's worth keeping, then you have no chance in rescuing that feline!"

Silver was about to punch Metal across the face when Sonic stepped in. "OK, guys, that's enough! We're not gonna find Blaze by arguing. Let's remain calm and…"

"Uh, Sonic" Mina interrupted. "Do you hear that?"

Everyone stopped to listen and they could make out a faint sound of footsteps which seemed to get louder. Suddenly, the door was forced open and several black aliens came through, all wielding purple swords with sharpened edges.

"What are these things?" Mina gasped in horror and disgust.

Metal began to analyse them. "They're Black Doom's henchman. And they're clearly not here to talk."

"Well, it's time we had ourselves some fun!" Sonic chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's see what these things have got!"

As Chip ducked into hiding, the black aliens raised their swords and charged, with Sonic and co following suit.

Sonic spun into the nearest one, knocking it into the air. He then uncurled and sent out a foot into another one before swinging round to punch one in the face. One came from the side and slashed like crazy but Sonic ducked under every swipe. The alien was about to make another attempt when Sonic smirked.

"Might I give you some advice? Look up" he said. The alien looked up and the alien from before fell on top of it. Sonic then jumped above them and spun into them like a buzz saw, letting them evaporate into green specks.

Mina was having a bit more difficulty. She threw a punch at one but it dodged and slashed its sword across her waist, barely missing her skin and catching a bit of her shirt. She then threw a kick but the alien blocked it and pushed her to the ground. She tried to summon the plants but the place seemed devoid of plant life. All she could do was jump all over the place as the aliens attempted to smack her. She soon became surrounded and one managed to get her in the back of her head with the hilt of its sword.

Now face down in the ground, Mina attempted to form a plan. "Come on,  
Mina" she growled to herself. "Think!" She then noticed the tentacles sticking out of the walls. With no other alternative, she gave it a try. Imagine her surprise when the tentacles sprang to life and clobbered the aliens with one swing.

"I think I like these" she smirked to herself as she petted one. She didn't stay like that for long as two more had come charging towards her. The tentacle blocked the attack but they chopped through it. When they did, Mina slammed her heel into them.

"Don't tick me off" she threatened.

Metal and Silver had their backs to each other as the aliens closed in. One charged forward but Silver effortlessly grabbed it and sent it back. Metal was ripping up anything that came near.

"These guys are a nuisance" Silver complained, grabbing another one and slamming it into the ground, head first.

"If you ask me, they're too easy" replied Metal as he grabbed one by the neck and electrocuted it.

Suddenly, something erupted from the floor and killed some of the other aliens. This creature had the same colour scheme but it was larger and bulkier. It too was carrying a sword.

"Now this is more like it" Metal sneered as he zoomed forward. He slashed a claw across its front but the alien saw this as an inconvenience. It grabbed Metal with surprising reflex and slammed him into the ground.

"Metal! Hold on!" cried Silver but one alien got in his way and battered him with its sword. Silver grabbed hold of it and sent it into the alien titan but it bounced off. Silver ran towards the brute but it swiped him away with its other arm before crushing Metal.

"Ugh! Great, I'm going out like this!" Metal moaned as he began to short circuit. Thankfully, Silver returned with three aliens held at once and launched them at the alien's other hand, knocking its sword out. The behemoth of an alien faced him with anger in its eyes but Silver smirked as he made the sword levitate before impaling the giant with it. It evaporated into green specks as it dropped Metal, who Silver helped up.

"I suppose I should thank you" the mechanical clone said.

"And I suppose I should say no problem" replied Silver.

The four proceeded to regroup when several of the giant aliens appeared at once through the hole in the floor.

"Oh, this isn't good" Silver pointed out.

"Ya think?" Sonic asked sarcastically. He tried spin dashing into one but he bounced off. Metal tried to electrocute another but the alien didn't seem to feel it. Silver attempted to pry a sword from one of them but another knocked him away. Mina was trying to summon the tentacles again but the aliens easily ripped them apart.

As the four got clobbered, Chip emerged from his hiding place with worry in his eyes.

"Oh man, those guys are getting killed and I can't do a thing" he said to himself. "But I've got to help them!"

He then flew out and weaved between the titans as he neared his friends. Sonic was shocked at this.

"Chip! Get out of here!" he told the young pup.

Chip, however, was defiant. "No, I'm not gonna let you die!" As he spoke, one alien raised its sword to attack the dog.

"Chip, behind you!" Mina screamed. As Chip turned, his eyes widened in horror. The alien swung its sword down but at the same time, a green orb surrounded Chip and it repelled the alien, causing it to be flung back into the wall. Everyone was gobsmacked, even Chip. Suddenly, the orb expanded, destroying the monsters in its wake. As it vanished, everyone stared at Chip.

"How did you do that?" asked Mina.

"I don't know" Chip replied.

"Something similar happened in Mystic Ruins" Silver mentioned. "Whoever Chip is, he must be powerful."

Metal seemed rather interested as well. "I guess I underestimated him. He could be the only person who can destroy the Twilight Emperor."

"Well, I think it's time we kept moving" Sonic suggested but before anyone could reply, part of the wall blew off and a few Egg Pawns came charging through firing their guns.

"Oh what now?!" Mina whinged. Sonic and Metal took one look at the robots and said the same thing.

"Eggman!"

The two charged forward, destroying the robots without pausing, forcing Mina, Silver and Chip to catch up.

* * *

Outside the Black Comet segment, Eggman was carrying Blaze's trophy as he ran towards the edge of a cliff.

"Who would've thought this trophy would be so heavy?" Eggman muttered.

"You should work out more!"

The evil doctor turned round with a gasp as Sonic ran forward, ready to attack. Eggman however was smart and pulled Blaze's trophy in front of him. Sonic skidded to a halt before flipping back.

"That was low, Eggman!" he growled.

Eggman chortled as he backed away. "It's how I roll. Now I'm going to take my leave without fuss, unless you want the cat girl hurt."

Silver, who had caught up, clenched his fists as he saw his best friend get taken away. He then noticed Mina getting ready for something. Suddenly, roots began to emerge from the ground.

"Mina, wait!" he cried but it was too late. A tangle of roots burst from the ground and headed straight for Eggman. He jumped to the side, causing the strange badge that Black Doom placed on Blaze to come off. Eggman then found himself teetering over the cliff edge. He tried to egain his balance but quickly fell over the side.

"BLAZE!!" Silver yelled. Everyone else looked shocked as well. The silence was quickly broken by laughter. Eggman then appeared in his Egg-O-Matic with Blaze's trophy in hand.

"Ha ha ha! Sorry, but I'm still alive!" he chortled.

"Give her back, Eggman!" Sonic cried.

"You'll have to come and get her, if you can!" he laughed as he flew up towards the Black Comet which had appeared during the fiasco. "Amy will now have a room mate!"

"What did you say?!" yelled Sonic.

"So he has both Amy _and_ Blaze now?" asked Mina.

"It looks that way. But we can't give up!" a determined Silver told her.

Meanwhile, Metal walked forwards and picked up the badge that fell of the trophy. He looked at it thoughtfully.

"What's the matter, Metal?" Chip asked.

"I wonder…" Metal said to himself. His concentration was broken when he heard a soft sound.

"Do you guys hear that?" he asked. Everyone listened and heard it too. "It sounds like it's coming from the other side" said Sonic.

"I'll go check" Chip offered and he flew up. He scanned the horizon before coming back down.

"All I saw was a guy in green floating away from a weird machine with two robots on either side of it" he said.

Sonic's eyes quickly widened. "The Ancient Minister! He's set off another bomb! And we're gonna get sucked in!"

"Quick!" cried Metal. "We need to jump over the edge!"

"Are you insane?" cried Mina.

"Just trust me!" Metal retaliated.

With no other option, they all leaped over the edge as the bomb went off, taking the Black Comet segment with it. As this went on, Metal flew off, holding Sonic and Mina, whilst Silver floated with Chip.

* * *

Back with Mephiles, he was observing the destruction of Black Doom's hideout on his computer screen. A smile appeared in his eyes.

"That should deal with the traitor" he smirked. Suddenly, the screen began to go fuzzy, irritating the demon. "I thought I told Scourge to fix this!" he moaned, battering the screen. Then, it went pitch black as something appeared on it.

It appeared to be a purple dragon of sorts with beady yellow eyes. Its fingers were sharp and pointed and it had frills of some sort on its head. As it roared, Mephiles immediately bowed.

"Dark Gaia! What do I owe this pleasure?" he asked. The monster now known as Dark Gaia roared again but Mephiles seemed to understand him.

"At the moment, we've only set off two bombs but it is set to increase. We've also captured Amy, Blaze and Knuckles. We've also taken Black Doom's hideout into the Twilight Realm so he shouldn't be a problem. Our only problem is that we've lost contact with Scourge and apparently, somebody infiltrated Eggman's base and released the Gizoid" Mephiles explained.

Dark Gaia roared once more, forcing Mephiles to bow once more. "Very well. We'll do all we can to kill and capture any hero that crosses us" he promised as the screen turned itself off. Once it did, Mephiles straightened up and laughed.

"And once we do that, I'll cross you and become the true Twilight Emperor! Mwhahahahahahahah!!!"


	14. Dusty Desert Part 2

Chapter 14

The scene shifts to the temple in Dusty Desert. Charmy and Marine had left Scourge's trophy behind as they entered. The walls were covered with murals that depicted the Nightmares as well as two dragons. One seemed to be dark and evil while the other seemed gentler. The weird thing was that the two were interlocked in peace. Naturally, none of these pictures made sense to the two kids.

"Is this supposed to make sense?" asked Marine.

"Probably not" Charmy answered, as they continued.

The inside of the temple was dark and dreary, the only light illuminating from the torches on the wall. There seemed to be multiple twists and turns and the two were quickly getting lost and scared.

"Oh, I don't like this, mate" Marine shivered. "There could be ghosts in here. And I don't like ghosts!"

Charmy too was getting quite frightened but he put on a brave face. "We can't give up now! My friends are in here somewhere and I'm not leaving them!"

The determined bee then braved onwards, forcing Marine to catch up with him. "Wait up! We don't know what's…" she began but suddenly, the floor opened up beneath her. She fell through the gaping hole with a scream. Charmy darted round and saw nothing.

"Marine?" he called out but no reply. "Oh man! This isn't good" he murmured. Then, to make things worse, a swarm of Fears and Little Rexes came charging down the corridor. Due to Marine's sudden disappearance, Charmy was already spooked and upon seeing a bunch of monsters charging at him, he fled whilst screaming like a girl.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marine had just picked herself off the floor. Somehow, she wasn't badly hurt.

"That was ripper!" she screamed. "How do I do that again?" The attention was brought back to reality when she noticed that she was in another straight corridor lined with torches. "Where am I?" she asked herself.

She walked forward to see where it would lead when she saw something standing in front of her. She immediately squealed in horror until she realised it wasn't moving.

"What the heck is this?" she wondered, edging closer. But before she could make out what it was, a Dark Eel sprung out in front of her, causing her to jump back in terror.

"Oh this is all I need!" she wailed as the eel was joined by two new creatures that resembled wizards.

"Bring it on, you drongos!" Marine cried, charging at the Dark Eel. It fired its purple orbs but Marine cancelled the attack by firing her energy orbs. She then jumped and fired a blast close range at the eel. But to her shock, ii didn't die. If anything it was angrier and it swung its head at her, knocking her away.

"This can't be good" she gulped as the eel dived underground. She stood as still as a statue, waiting for the eel to strike. She then heard a rumbling from below her and she rolled out of the way to avoid the eel. As she flipped back up, the feisty raccoon fired numerous energy blasts at the monster but even though it seemed to inflict damage, it didn't die.

"Just what is with this thing?" she wailed. She then noticed that the wizards weren't attacking. Something clicked in her mind but it really hurt. "Those wizard thingies must be protecting the eel!" she deduced, rushing to take them out. The wizards were prepared though and they effortlessly floated out of the way as Marine charged forward. One snuck behind her and smashed its staff into the back. She was sent head first into the ground.

"Blimey, those things pack a punch" she moaned as the wizards approached her menacingly. She noticed this and tried to crawl away but one grabbed her tail.

"Hey, hands off, bub!" she screamed, trying to kick it off. In her wild flurry, she accidentally touched the bottom of the thing she was trying to look at. She was suddenly blinded by a bright light. Once it died down, something else could be seen. It quickly jumped forward and punched the wizard across the face, instantly killing it. Marine glanced at her saviour and gasped.

He was an armadillo with black fur and a red shell that started at his head and went down his back. He had tan ears that stuck out and he wore white gloves and red shoes with a single patch of white on top.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The figure turned round with a warm smile. "I'm Mighty the Armadillo!"

"Mighty?" Marine gasped, remembering what Charmy said. Her thoughts were interrupted when the eel jumped into the ground again. A cocky grin appeared on Mighty's face. Suddenly, the eel burst out from the ground in front of Mighty but the armadillo easily grabbed it round the neck.

"You've been a bad boy" he mocked the creature. "Looks like you need a spanking." He then grabbed its tail and straightened it out before aiming it like a javelin at the remaining wizard, which began to float away.

"Oh no you don't!" Mighty cried as he threw the eel straight at the retreating wizard. Both monsters were dead on impact.

"Thanks a bundle mate!" cheered Marine as she ran up to the armadillo.

"It's no problem" replied Mighty. "What's your name, by the way?"

"I'm Captain Marine the Raccoon!" she declared, over dramatically. Mighty rolled his eyes slightly. "I saw that! And it's true! I came here with Charmy and…"

"Wait, Charmy?!" Mighty gasped. "He's alive!"

"He was when I last saw him" the young raccoon explained. "We got separated so he's probably still in this temple."

"Well, we'd better get moving. Follow me!" Mighty told her as they set off down the corridor.

* * *

Meanwhile, Charmy was still being chased by the Fears and Little Rexes. He lost them a few times but they always seemed to find him. He was slowly running out of breath and the monsters were catching up slowly.

"Leave me alone!" he wailed as he flew away but they seemed persistent. He then noticed he was heading straight towards another room. However, a slab of rock was slowly descending, forcing Charmy to speed up. The slab was about to touch the ground when Charmy dived down and slid under it, leaving the monsters to slam into the wall.

"Heh heh!" Charmy laughed. "That'll show ya!" He then took notice of his surroundings. This room was much darker than the others, with only a few torches to keep it bright.

"Gee, this place looks empty" he said to himself when he heard low growling. "What was that?" Turning, he saw a figure come into view.

It was a green crocodile with a muscular build with a gold chain round his neck and a few spines on his tail. He wore black headphones and shoes, as well as white gloves with black cuffs. Charmy immediately became ecstatic.

"VECTOR!!! Oh I'm so happy to see you!" he squealed but his happiness faded when he noticed that Vector was growling. "Vector?"

Suddenly, Vector lunged forward and tried to snap Charmy with his jaws. "Whoa, Vector, what's with you? It's me, Charmy!" the bee tried to reason but it was in vain. He then realised that his eyes were bright yellow. "He must be brainwashed!" he deduced but this small pause allowed Vector to smack Charmy to the side with his arm.

The bee fell to the floor but quickly got up to avoid Vector's stomp. He flew over him and sent his stinger into the croc's backside, causing him to yelp.

"Ha ha! Oh, I've missed that!" Charmy said to himself but he quickly flew away when Vector tried to grab him. He flew higher into the air so Vector couldn't reach him and stuck out his tongue.

"You can't get me!" Charmy sung as Vector got angrier. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and fire came out. Charmy was taken aback and dodged to the side in time, the fire clipping his wing.

"ARGH! I forgot how bad Vector's breath was!" he wailed as he fell to the ground. Once he had crashed into the floor, Vector edged towards him, gnashing his teeth.

Charmy began to cry slightly. "Vector, please, don't do this!" but it was no use. Vector stood over him and raised his arms in an attempt to finish him off.

Suddenly, a black and red blur came crashing through the wall and it slammed into Vector. Charmy looked over to see Marine running towards him.

"You OK, mate?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine" he replied, glancing over to see Mighty sucker punching Vector in the snout.

"Mighty!" he cried to his friend.

"Hey, kid. Good to see ya!" he called to his young friend before Vector came back, picked him up and threw him towards the kids. Mighty crashed in front of them but quickly got back up.

"You two stay back! I'll handle him!" he told them. They didn't hesitate and quickly moved to the side. Vector let out a roar before charging at the armadillo. Mighty just stood his ground and opened his palms towards the croc. Soon, the two were interlocked and pushing against each other. Mighty was doing his best but he began to sweat as Vector pushed him back.

"You may be stronger," he growled, "But I'm smarter!" He then head butted Vector and flipped over his head before striking his foot at Vector's ankles, causing him to topple over. Mighty then grabbed Vector's tail and began to spin round. He seemed to be using all the strength he could muster in spinning Vector round.

"There's something very Mario 64 about this but oh well" he grunted as he spun faster and faster before letting Vector go. The croc sped through the air and crashed into the wall with such gusto that he became a trophy.

Charmy ran up to Mighty to see if he was OK. "I'm fine, kid. I'm just glad to see you got away safely."

"Thanks, Mighty. Now all we need to do is find Espio" the bee said cheerily but Mighty's face dropped. "What is it?"

Before Mighty could answer, Marine stared at Vector's trophy before saying "If this guy's your mate why did he attack you?" She then kicked the base, causing the trophy to shine. The light died down to show Vector standing up whilst he held his head.

"Argh, I feel dizzy" he moaned before noticing Charmy. "Charmy!" he rushed up to the bee and pulled him into a hug, knocking Mighty down in the progress. "Oh, I can't believe I'm saying this but I've missed ya!"

"Vector! My spine!" Charmy wailed. Vector let go but in confusion. "You're an insect. You don't have spines" he said.

"That's not the point right now Vector" said Mighty.

"Yeah, we still need to find Espio" Charmy reminded them. He then noticed Vector fall quiet as well.

"Charmy, we don't know what happened to Espio" Vector explained. Charmy's mouth fell open. "All we know is that he escaped. We don't know where he is either."

Charmy suddenly became depressed. He came here to save his friends, only for the one he looked up to not to be here. Marine suddenly spoke up.

"C'mon you guys! You're Team Chaotix! From what Charmy told me, you're the best detectives in the world! You should be able to find this Espio bloke in no time!" she told them.

Somehow, Marine's words caused the three detectives to look and each other and smile.

"OK, guys! Let's go and find Espio and stop those monsters!" Vector declared, raising his fist into the air.

Mighty punched the air whilst Charmy did a little dance. "That's right, coz who are we?"

"TEAM CHAOTIX!!!"


	15. Dusty Desert Part 3

Chapter 15

Whilst Charmy and Marine were having their little escapade in the temple, three figures stood in the desert on top of a sand dune. Shadow, Shahra and Erazor were busy watching something in the distance that seemed to be rocketing towards the temple. It was hard to make out but it seemed to be something mechanical.

"What is that?" asked Shahra, not used to seeing modern technology.

Erazor gruffly responded, "It appears to be another one of Eggman's creations."

"So, the doctor is involved as well?" Shadow asked.

"Exactly" Erazor replied, not taking his gaze off the object. He suddenly drew out his blade. "Which it means it must be destroyed!" The rogue genie then jumped down the sand dune and shot off, leaving Shahra and Shadow wide eyed.

"Argh, he's so arrogant!" Shahra moaned, folding her arms in annoyance. "He just takes off like that and leaves us here. Well, we don't need him, right Shadow?" However she got no reply. "Shadow? You're gone aren't you?" She turned to see that Shadow was indeed not there and was already running across the desert. Sighing, Shahra proceeded to follow.

* * *

Shadow had managed to catch up to Erazor who had only stopped to slice a few Nightmares in half. "Need some help?" asked Shadow.

Erazor turned to face him and chortled. "Do I look like I need help?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Yeah" was the reply before Shadow fired a Chaos Spear past Erazor and into the Dark Eel that had emerged to try and take a bite out of the genie. With the eel dazed, Erazor swung round and chopped it in half, leaving the two ends to evaporate.

Suddenly, a battalion of Nightmares appeared around them, only they had purple spikes sticking out their backs and were a darker shade of blue. These were the Deep Nightmares (which I'll call Deeps for short).

"About time we got a challenge" smirked Shadow.

"Don't make me have to save you, OK?" Erazor told him with a similar smirk to the black hedgehog.

The two then darted forward and began to fight. Shadow round house kicked one and punched another in the face. One tried grabbing him but he took its arm and swung it round, knocking it into several others. Another jumped at him from behind but he swung round and fired a Chaos Spear at it, instantly killing it.

Erazor meanwhile was swinging his blade all over the place, skewering anything that came near him. At one point he slammed the blunt side of the blade into a Deep that had come from the side, knocking it into a few of its comrades. He then found himself surrounded by the creatures, edging inwards. Smirking Erazor gripped his sword as it began to glow before swinging it in a complete circle at amazing speeds. Suddenly, the monsters burst into purple spheres. All that remained were two more but before Erazor could even get near them, Shadow teleported behind them and kicked them upwards. As they soared into the air, Shadow effortlessly threw a Chaos Spear up at them, killing them both.

"Humph, that was too easy" he muttered.

"Hey, those were my kills!" Erazor yelled.

"Should've been quicker then" Shadow mocked. Erazor was about to pound him into the ground until he noticed that the purple spheres that remained were still there. They then began to merge together, creating several Titans. The giants roared viciously as Erazor and Shadow found themselves back to back. Both however didn't seem worried.

"I think I liked it better when they were on my side" Erazor commented.

Shadow tilted his head to face him. "Feeling a little… regret?" The genie didn't answer. "Don't worry. I can handle these punks! Take cover!"

Erazor was about to ask until he saw him glow bright red. Not wanting to take chances, Erazor weaved past the Titans who were to slow to stop him. They then focused their attention on Shadow, who began to laugh like a maniac.

"So, you want some? Fine, I'll send you straight to hell!!! CHAOS BLAST!!!" he roared as his body seemed to erupt in a red explosion, taking out the monsters and leaving Erazor gobsmacked. Once the explosion died down, Shadow was on one knee, trying to catch his breath. It wasn't long until Shahra turned up.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He had a little pest problem" Erazor told her. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

"Are you sure? Shadow seems exhausted" the ring genie pointed out as Shadow got up.

"It's nothing. Besides, if we dawdle, we'll lose that robot. Let's go!" he said, shooting off with Erazor close behind.

"Will you stop leaving me behind?!" Shahra yelled as she pursued them.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Chaotix and Marine had just found themselves in the centre of the temple. However, it was a giant, circular room with nothing in it. Mighty seemed frustrated.

"I told you this wasn't the right way!" he yelled at Vector. The crocodile didn't seem to care.

"Hey, you never know. There's bound to be an exit somewhere" he said, enthusiastically.

"How about up there?" Marine asked, pointing up. There was nothing but some sort of a huge tunnel that went up.

"Uh, I don't think I can carry us all up there" Charmy pointed out.

"So, how do we get out?" asked Mighty. As the four pondered this, they failed to hear the ruckus above them.

* * *

Back outside, Shadow and the genies had managed to find themselves near the pit that led down to the temple.

"Great, we lost track of it!" Erazor growled.

"Well, it couldn't have just vanished like magic" Shahra said.

"Aren't you a genie?" Shadow asked her, who seemed to realise her mistake. As they stood there, the sound of the desert wind rushed past them. Then, Shadow's eyes widened as he heard something the others didn't.

"MOVE!!!" he yelled, pushing Shahra out of the way as something erupted from the sand. Erazor drew out his blade as did Shahra after she got back up. Shadow simply got into a fighting stance as whatever it was stood before them.

It was a giant robot with a red colouring with wing-like energy protrusions on its 'shoulders' that let it hover. It had a dome on its head that you couldn't look into and its body was covered in yellow lights. It had spindly legs and two green orbs linking them to the body. Its right arm appeared to be some sort of cannon with multiple barrels and its left arm was a drill. This was the Egg Dragoon.

"That thing's huge!" gasped Shahra.

"Hah, this thing is no match for me" scoffed Erazor as fire seemed to surround him. He suddenly grew in size so he was roughly the same size as the robot. The now giant genie swung his sword down but instead of doing any real damage, it just knocked the robot back a bit.

"What in the…" he gasped as the Egg Dragoon recovered and began to fire several yellow bullets at him. Erazor attempted to block them with his sword but most of them got through and forced him back slightly. The robot then aimed its drill at him and charged at the genie. Before the drill could impale him though, Shadow had appeared above it and spin dashed into the dome. Even though he only bounced off, it was enough for the Dragoon to be distracted long enough for Erazor to shrink back down to normal size.

"Gah, this thing's tougher than I thought" he grimaced.

"Eggman must've made its armour near impenetrable" Shadow deduced. "But one thing he does over and over is give it a weak point."

Shahra glanced at the robot and tried to see somewhere that might look like it could take damage. Before they could do anything though, the Dragoon raised its drill and swiped it at them. They were forced to jump back as it left electricity in its wake. Erazor and Shadow jumped to one side whilst Shahra went the other way. Suddenly, the Dragoon opened its cannon and fired a giant blue sphere at the two warriors which froze them on impact.

"Uh oh" Shahra gulped. She glanced at the robot which aimed its sights at her. With no alternative, Shahra launched herself forward as the robot began to fire its bullets. As she zoomed forward, she noticed the green orbs that linked the legs to the body. As if on instinct, she sliced her sword across them. There was a sudden flash and the robot seemed to short circuit.

"So that's the weak point!" Shahra gasped. Whilst the robot was distracted, Shahra flew to her comrades and broke them out of their icy prisons.

"Guys, those green orbs are the weak point" she told them.

"Nice work" said Shadow. "Now, to finish this!"

The Dragoon seemed to notice it was in trouble and began to unload everything it had at the trio. As Shahra and Erazor deflected the bullets with their swords, Shadow spun his way into the orbs, forcing the machine to stop. He then repeatedly punched and kicked it, dealing more damage to the robot. As a finishing blow, Erazor soared into the air and slammed the blunt side of his blade into the dome, causing it to crack. This seemed to trigger something as the robot shook violently before attempting to fly away. But its jets seemed to run out and it fell to the temple, crashing through the ground outside it, barely missing Scourge's trophy. The trio looked over the side before smiling at their achievement.

"Humph, a worthy challenge I'll admit but still a pile of junk!" scoffed Shadow.

"I'm just glad it's over" sighed Shahra. Suddenly, a crashing sound was heard.

* * *

Back with the Chaotix, rubble was falling from the ceiling forcing everyone but Vector to look up.

"What is that?" asked Charmy.

Vector suddenly put his ear to the ground. "Hmm, judging by the violent tremors and position of them, it can only be mole people!" he deduced.

Mighty replied with "Or it could be that giant robot falling STRAIGHT AT US!!!!"

Then, the Dragoon crashed in front of the group, knocking them back. Marine and Charmy seemed terrified by the hulking mass of metal.

"W-w-what is that thing?!" cried Marine.

"Whatever it is, it looks like it wants to fight" Mighty pointed out.

"Then let's give it one!" Vector cried, cracking his knuckles.

The Dragoon was already quite broken and so it began shooting bullets everywhere. Vector and Mighty ran to one side whilst the younger two went the other side. In the robot's moment of weakness, Vector took a good look at the robot before a light bulb appeared above his head.

"Guys, aim for the green thing! That's the weak point!" he told the others.

"That's good and all, Vector" began Mighty." But why do you have a light bulb above your head?"

Vector grabbed the still lit bulb and simply shrugged. They were brought back to reality when the bulb was shot out of Vector's hand. The Dragoon seemed to be aiming for him and he and Mighty were forced to jump behind some rubble.

Charmy, worried for his friends, darted forward as Marine attempted to distract it by firing her energy blasts at it, all of which seemed to not work. The hyperactive bee then grabbed hold of the green weak point and began to punch it.

"Take that and that and that!" he cried as he hit it but his eyes widened when he realised nothing was happening, except that the robot was aiming its drill at him. Screaming, he flew off the orb at the last second as the drill drove into the orb, causing electricity to shoot out from it.

"Nice work, Charmy!" Mighty called out. "We'll take it from here!" He and Vector then came out from behind the rubble and the armadillo used Vector as a stepping stool to get on top of the robot. He began to pound on the dome, cracking it even more.

"Hey, Charmy, get me up there!" Vector told the bee, who saluted before letting Vector grab his feet as he hovered into the air. Marine could only stare in amazement at their teamwork. As they hovered in the air, Vector let go of Charmy once they were over the machine. Mighty had moved out of the way as Vector belly flopped on the glass, causing more cracks to appear on the surface.

"One more, Mighty?" Vector asked.

"Definitely" Mighty smirked. The armadillo then curled himself into a ball, allowing Vector to pick him up. He then jumped into the air and threw his friend down like a basketball. Mighty bounced off the dome as it shattered. Marine's eyes were widened as the Chaotix landed next to her.

"That was RIPPER!!!" she screamed, forcing the others to cover their ears.

"It was nothing" said Mighty, who rubbed his ears. Glancing at the robot, he noticed that it was shaking violently again. Suddenly, the drill broke off to reveal a mechanical hand which suddenly grabbed the four in one swift movement, knocking Charmy out in the process.

"Charmy!" the other gasped. Then, something popped out of the broken dome and began to tick.

"It's a bomb!" Vector cried. Unfortunately for them, there was nothing they could do as the robot's thrusters suddenly roared into life. It zoomed up through the hole and out of the ground as the seconds ticked away. As they were rocketing upwards, Marine noticed that the arm was attacked by a spindly bit of metal.

"That doesn't look to strong" she thought to herself. Seeing no other alternative, she opened her palm at it and fired one bolt of energy. The arm immediately broke off, leaving the four to descend to the ground at rapid speed. At the same time, the bomb went off and another large blue sphere started to engulf everything around it.

"WAHOO!!!!" Marine screamed as she fell.

"Are you insane?!" Vector yelled at her. "We're still gonna die!"

The raccoon noticed that he was right and immediately screamed in terror. Charmy was still unconscious so there was nothing they could do. Marine shut her eyes and awaited the inevitable. However, a carpet came out of nowhere and served as a landing spot for the four. Charmy woke up from the impact.

"Wah! What happened?!" he cried, suddenly noticing the floating carpet.

"What the…?" Mighty started to say before the carpet took off to the desert and landed in front of Shadow and the genies.

"Are you guys OK?" Shahra asked. "We saw you falling so I sent that carpet out to help."

"Thanks miss" said Mighty, being naturally polite. He then turned to Marine. "And you too, Marine. If you didn't do that, we'd be sucked into that thing" he gestured to the ever expanding sphere.

"Hee hee. No drama, mates!" Marine blushed.

"So, Shadow" said Vector. "What are you doing here?"

"We'll explain on the way" the black hedgehog replied. "Right now, we've got a comet to find." He then took off with the newly formed group chasing after him. As they left, the giant blue sphere took in the temple… and Scourge's trophy.


	16. Dusty Desert Part 4

Chapter 16

A fair distance away from Shadow, the genies and the Chaotix, the Ancient Minister hovered in the air with another Twilight Bomb suspended under him. He was staring at the explosion that the Egg Dragoon left. As he stared into the dark blue void, he thought back to the other bombs he set off and how several robots were destroyed in the process.

"I've killed my own kind" he muttered. "But I have no choice."

He was about to float off when a vine shot out of the ground, aiming straight at him but he moved out of the way in time. Turning, he saw Mina, looking quite frustrated.

"Crud, I missed!" she wailed as Sonic and the others came to her side.

"We've got you now, Ancient Minister!" Sonic cried. "Your reign of terror is finally…"

"Sonic! Shut your mouth and go after him!" yelled Metal as the cloaked figure began to float away.

"Hey, I didn't finish my hero speech!" Sonic moaned, chasing after him with Metal in hot pursuit, leaving Mina, Silver and Chip in the dust.

"Come on" said Silver. "Let's catch up to them before they do something stupid."

* * *

As Sonic and Metal ran through the desert, several Deeps popped out of the ground to stall them but Sonic weaved his way in-between them, leaving them open for Metal to shred to pieces.

"These things are too easy" said Sonic.

"For once, I agree with you" Metal replied. "I wish they'd give us something tougher."

Suddenly, a Big Mother landed in front of them, knocking the two back. Metal didn't seem worried.

"Another one? This shouldn't be a problem" he sneered.

Then, a Dark Titan appeared next to the Mother, smacking its club into the palm of its hand, menacingly.

"Uh, this looks like trouble" Sonic pointed out.

"Fine, you can have the fat one" Metal said before charging at the Titan. He jumped up and aimed his claws at the beast's face. But the giant monster effortlessly knocked him back with its club. Metal quickly recovered in time to dodge the Titan's attempt to crush him under its foot.

The robotic hedgehog then made another beeline at the Titan, which bent down in an attempt to grab him but Metal slid under it, causing it to keel over. As it tried to regain its balance, Metal jumped into its back to knock it over. Once it hit the ground, Metal covered his fist with electricity, leapt into the air and slammed it into the Titan's back. The monster let out a roar as electricity flooded through its body.

"Oh, shut up" Metal groaned as he pulled his claw out of the Titan's back, leaving it to evaporate into pink spores.

Sonic seemed to be having a tougher time. Whenever he tried to spin dash into the Mother, he bounced right off. And whenever that happened, the Mother would try to slam him into the ground with its stretchy arms.

"Just how am I supposed to kill this thing?!" he moaned.

He decided to make another attempt but the Mother span round with its arms out, knocking him back into the sand.

"This is getting really annoying!" he said, clearly irritated.

He then saw the Mother's stomach begin to bulge before it shot out a bunch of Little Rexes.

"That's quite disturbing" the blue hedgehog stated.

The small battalion of Rexes jumped at him but Silver appeared in time to grab them and send them flying into the hulking monster. As it reeled back from the hits, Mina jumped up to it and round house kicked it in the face. It was knocked on its back, giving Sonic the opportunity to spin dash downwards into it. He sped straight into its body as it cried out in pain before it exploded into a flurry of pink spores.

"Thanks for the help, guys" said Sonic.

"Well, you were clearly getting your butt handed to you" Silver mentioned.

"Oh thanks" was the sarcastic response.

"If you guys are done rambling…" Metal said, before pointing at the green dot in the horizon.

"Hey, get back here!" Sonic cried out as the group chased after him.

The Ancient Minister turned round to aim the gun on its platform at Sonic and Silver who were at the front of the group. It began to fire but the two hedgehogs were able to dodge the blasts.

"Man, this guy doesn't know when to quit" Silver cried.

"YOU don't know when to quit!!!" the minister replied. "There's no point in fighting so why do you try?!"

"Cos if we don't, who will?!" yelled Sonic.

The Ancient Minister staid quiet for a moment before turning away. "Pathetic."

Suddenly, a group of Egg Pawns appeared in front of the two hedgehogs forcing them to stop, giving the other three time to catch up.

"Get out of the way!" Silver demanded but the robots didn't budge. Metal rolled his eyes before ripping them to shreds.

As the minister flew away, he suddenly stopped. Looking down, he saw another pawn that had latched onto the bomb and managed to pull it off its support. It was crushed underneath it causing the Ancient Minister to feel a twinge of pain. Two other pawns approached then approached the bomb and pulled it open, activating the timer.

"Guys! The bomb!" Chip yelled, pointing at it. Sonic and Mina stopped fighting the other robots so they could attempt to try and stop it. The mongoose latched on to one and tried to pull it off.

"This thing's wedged in tight" she growled as she kept tugging at it.

Sonic wasn't having any luck either. "They just won't budge!" he called back. Then, before he knew it, two other pawns came along and pulled Sonic and Mina off.

"Hey, hands off the material!" Mina cried as she kicked them off.

Meanwhile, the Ancient Minister floated away, staring at the robots surrounding the bomb. One of them seemed to wave goodbye. The minister merely nodded as the timer went down to zero, thus causing the bomb to detonate.

As the dark blue sphere erupted, the nearby pawns were ripped apart and sucked in. Even though Sonic had destroyed many a robot in his time, there was something distressing about the sight but he didn't have time to dawdle as he felt himself being dragged in. He used his super speed to keep away from it but he saw Chip standing there, watching it, his eyes widened.

"Chip!" Sonic yelled, shooting off to grab him and drag him away. Silver and Mina were having trouble as well but thankfully, Metal grabbed them by their wrists and dragged them away from the destruction.

Thanks to their speed, Sonic and Metal could easily get a fair distance away from the explosion. The group stood on a sand dune as they glanced at where the bomb went off.

"Great, another one we've failed to stop" sighed Sonic. "And not just that, we've lost the Ancient Minister again!"

"It's ok, Sonic" Mina consoled him. "We'll find him."

"For once, the girl's right" Metal said, receiving a glare from the mongoose girl. "I've locked onto his position. He seems to be heading for… the Gigan Rocks."

"Great work, Metal. Let's go" said Sonic but he then noticed Chip was still staring at the explosion left from the bomb.

"Chip? Are you feeling OK?" the blue hero asked.

"Guys," Chip started, turning to them, "I remember now. All of it."

"Wait, you remember who you are?!" Silver gasped. "That's great, Chip!"

"No, not Chip. My real name is Light Gaia" the young pup told them.

"Light Gaia?" Metal asked. "Wait, you're the god of rebirth?!" Metal cried.

"That is correct. Well, one of the gods of rebirth" Chip stated.

"Forgive me but just who is Light Gaia?" Mina asked.

Chip nodded. "I should explain from the beginning. I am Light Gaia, one of the gods of rebirth. Every 100,000 years, this world is broken apart by my brother, Dark Gaia, so that I may rebuild it."

"Why do you do that?" asked Sonic.

"Well, the legends say that if they didn't, the world will eventually die" Metal explained.

"That's not the only reason" Chip said. "Me and my brother were also given another task. But I can't quite remember it still."

"Fine. Then answer me this" Metal said. "Why are you in that form?"

"I'm guessing I was reduced into this form when I was attacked" the dog explained.

"Attacked?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah, I don't quite remember what happened, but I do know that my brother saved me, sending me out of our home, the Twilight Realm. Being forced out of my habitat turned me into this. Thankfully, I still have some power" Chip told them.

"When you say your brother…" Mina began but Chip knew what she meant.

"Yes, I mean Dark Gaia. Or as you guys call him, the Twilight Emperor."

"WHAT?!" everyone cried. "Your brother is the guy in charge of this thing?!" Silver shouted.

"Wait, he's not like this normally. I think he's being controlled by whoever attacked us" Chip defended.

"If that's the case," Sonic said, "We'll help him get back to his senses."

Chip seemed surprised. "Are you sure? I mean, he's my brother so it's my responsibility and…"

"Do we need a reason to help out a friend?" Silver asked, a friendly smile on his face.

Chip smiled back. "Thanks guys."

With their heads held high, the five set off for the Gigan Rocks.


	17. Tropical Jungle Part 3

Chapter 17

The scene opens up to the outskirts of Tropical Jungle. A beaten path could be seen coming out of the jungle and going past what appeared to be a swamp. The area was completely empty aside from two figures, Tails and Rouge. The bat was no longer wearing the bandage on her wing but she was pouting and walking ahead of her two tailed companion, who was trying to talk to her.

"I said I'm sorry! What else was I supposed to do?" he asked.

Rouge spun round looking quite annoyed. "Anything apart from jumping off of a cliff!" she shouted.

"If I didn't, we would've been caught and we wouldn't be able to save Knuckles!" Tails yelled back.

This comment made Rouge fall silent. Tails was right. They were Knuckles' only hope. It was up to her. Her silence made Tails worried.

"Are you alright, Rouge?" he asked.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just that…"Rouge started to say but she never finished, thus arousing the fox's suspicion.

"Rouge, I can't help but notice that you seem to be more focused on Knuckles than the Master Emerald for once" he explained. "Why is that?"

Rouge stood still for a few seconds. What should she do? Keep it bottled up and deny it or confide in Tails? It didn't take long for her to decide.

"OK, I'll tell you but keep it to yourself" Rouge said, looking behind her shoulder as if anybody else was there. "The truth is… I think that…"

Suddenly, a black arrow shot out of nowhere and hit Rouge in the back, knocking her past Tails as she turned into a trophy.

"NO!" the fox cried, before hearing mocking laughter. He already knew who it was before he flipped round to see Eggman with his Dark Cannon.

"You'll pay for that, Eggman!" he yelled.

"Ohohoho!" the doctor chortled. "No need to worry, fox boy! You'll be joining her and Knuckles on the Twilight Emperor's mantelpiece!" He then fired another arrow from the cannon but Tails managed to dodge to the side, pulling out his Arm Cannon.

"Oh, you want a fight do you?" Eggman asked with a sneer. "Fine, but I'm afraid I'm not that good of a fighter. But I know someone to fill in!"

Suddenly, a bunch of pink spheres spread over Rouge's trophy. Tails gasped as they began to float into the sky and take Rouge's form. Before he knew it, Tails was faced against a copy of the bat, only with menacing yellow eyes and a purple aura.

"Uh oh" Tails gulped, realising that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Eggman was aware of it as well, since he was already charging up the cannon.

"Looks like I win. So long, Miles Prower!" Eggman laughed but before he could fire, something whizzed through the air and nearly impaled the doctor. All three of them stared at it.

"A bashyo fan?" Eggman said, with a look of confusion on his face. It indeed was a bashyo fan, made of green feathers and had a metal end to it.

"Where have I seen that before?" Tails wondered.

"Short memory for much a smart kid!"

Tails and Eggman looked up to see a green blur shoot past and grab the fan. It then somersaulted into the air, leaving a green and white Extreme Gear on the ground before landing in a crouched position.

He was a hawk with emerald green feathers. He had a yellow beak and several head feathers. He wore white gloves, red boots with black markings and yellow goggles on his head. He also had a silver ring round his left wrist. He drew out two fans and had a grin on his face. Eggman on the other hand seemed flustered.

"Jet the Hawk!" he cried.

"I know my own name, egghead!" Jet sneered.

"You mock me now, pigeon" Eggman retorted, aiming the cannon at him. "But I believe your name was on the list!"

"List? So you've been hunting us down!" Jet cried, suddenly angry. "Then you know where Storm is!"

"The albatross? I don't know where that fat buffoon is!" Eggman said but Jet seemed to only get angrier.

"He's not fat! He's big boned!" he roared, charging straight at the doctor. Eggman attempted to fire the cannon but Jet was too fast. He kicked the weapon up into the air and as it fell down, he sliced across it with his fans. As soon as he landed, the cannon fell apart into pieces before blowing up. Eggman seemed distraught.

"My cannon!" he growled. "You will pay for this, hawk! Rouge, eliminate him! And Tails too!" His Egg Mobile then appeared beside him and he hopped into it before floating away.

"Hey, you get back here you…" Jet started but the fake Rouge kicked him in the back.

"Oh, big mistake!" the hawk growled, charging at the bat with his fans. He swung his fans rapidly, but Rouge jumped back to avoid every swipe. She then swung her foot round but Jet ducked and swung the metal part of the fan into her other leg, knocking her to the ground. He then jumped and tried slamming down on her but she back flipped to avoid it.

"You're a quick one but you can't last forever!" Jet sneered before charging forward again.

As the hawk and bat fought, Tails looked on in worry. "That Rouge copy looks tough. We may need back up" he said to himself, turning to bring Rouge back to life, only to find her trophy surrounded by Nightmares and Fears.

"Hey, get away from that!" he shouted, firing his cannon at one of the Nightmares, killing it instantly. The other Nightmares charged at him but he flipped over them and shot them in the back. The Fears then attacked by flinging themselves at the fox. Tails attempted to shoot them but they were so small and quick, he couldn't hit any of them. They shot past him, striking him as they did.

As Tails was dealing with those, Jet had just been kicked back by the Rouge copy again.

"You are really ticking me off!" he yelled. He then made another dash at it but the bat flew over him and began to throw the bombs. Jet managed to knock them back with his fans but the Rouge clone dodged them itself, letting them blow up in the air. Jet then threw his fans like javelins at it but, again, it avoided them.

"Come down here and fight!" he demanded but the fake simply smirked and threw more bombs at him. The hawk jumped back to avoid them since he lost his fans. He then raised his left arm into the air as the ring round it began to glow.

"If you won't come down then I'll make you!" he said before the fake Rouge was brought down from the sky quite suddenly and slammed into the ground. It tried pushing itself up but gravity seemed to be weighing it down. Jet smirked at this sight.

"How do you like that? My Ark of the Cosmos has control over gravity. So you're grounded!" he explained before the ring began to glow again. The false Rouge began to float in the air, as did Jet.

"Now for the best part! Gravity Dive!" the hawk cried, before zooming straight at the bat, striking past it repeatedly.

Tails was still trying to hit the Fears with his cannon but they were still avoiding them.

"Why won't these things stay still?" he groaned. One of the tiny enemies tried to get him from behind but Tails noticed this and swung round. As he did this, his namesakes smacked the Fear to the ground, killing it.

"Why didn't I think of that" stated Tails as more of them came at him. But the two tailed fox was prepared this time and aimed his tails at them and spun them rapidly, knocking the Fears back and destroying them. With them taken care of, Tails went over to his friend's trophy and touched the base. It wasn't long when Rouge was standing back up.

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked.

"It was Eggman. He killed you and then made a copy of you. Thankfully, Jet the Hawk showed up" Tails told her.

"Where is he then?" the bat asked. Tails pointed to where the hawk was fighting, only to see the fake Rouge floating in the air getting struck by something invisible. Then, it was flung into the swamp as Jet appeared on the ground in a crouching position.

"Too easy" he smirked before noticing Tails and Rouge run up to him. "If you're here to help, you're a bit late."

"Thanks for the help, Jet" said Tails.

Jet simply shrugged it off. "No problem. But I need some help too. You guys haven't seen my friend Storm have ya?" he asked.

Tails and Rouge shook their heads, causing Jet to sigh. "Great. Just where could he be?"

As they spoke, the trio failed to notice more of the pink spheres floating into the swamp, causing it to glow ominously. Ripples then appeared on the surface as something began to rise from it. This grabbed the group's attention, who turned and stared in horror as the fake Rouge rose out of the water, only much bigger than before. It stared down at them before letting out an ear piercing screech.

"What the hell happened?!" Rouge screamed.

"I don't know but it looks set to kill" Tails said, readying his arm cannon. "You ready, Jet?" However, he didn't get an answer. The hawk was too busy staring at the giant clone. It wasn't until his nose started to bleed that Rouge finally noticed what he was staring at.

"Pervert!" she yelled, slapping him across the face.

Jet shook his head before getting his fans out. "Sorry, let's do this!" The emerald hawk charged and jumped at the clone but it smacked him away, knocking him into the ground and causing a miniature crater. Tails and Rouge took to the skies and attacked with bombs and lasers but all they seemed to do was annoy the giantess who swatted them away like flies. Rouge managed to avoid it but Tails was knocked down to the ground next to Jet.

"This doesn't look good" Rouge gulped. Her clone then reached out to grab her but she flew away from it and made a beeline for its face. As she began to spin, the clone grabbed with surprisingly quick reflexes and began to crush Rouge in her hand.

"Argh! Let go of me, you copycat!" she wailed as she tried to struggle free. The clone simply sneered at her and began to squeeze Rouge even harder.

Tails and Jet had only just managed to get up when they saw what was going on.

"Don't worry, Rouge. We'll save you!" Tails called out.

Jet seemed confused. "We will? I mean, we will!" He then dashed at the fake and attacked its legs with his fans. Tails also began to shoot it but both attacks seemed to do nothing. The clone let out another shriek that forced the two to their knees. Rouge wasn't affected however and used this opportunity to sink her teeth into the giantess' hand. The clone let go of her as it screamed in pain.

"That's what you get!" Rouge said, before kicking it across the face repeatedly at a fast pace.

Tails, who had recovered from the scream, noticed this and quickly formulated a plan. "Jet, use your Ark on that thing!"

Jet seemed reluctant to listen to somebody else but nodded and raised it into the air. It glowed and the clone began to float into air. Rouge quickly backed away and landed next to Tails.

"What now?" she asked, as Tails began to charge up his cannon, an orange glow emanating from it.

"Just a minute" he said. "Jet, keep that thing distracted in case it shrieks again!"

"Already on it!" Jet replied, shooting upwards with his fans and began to slash across the giant bat's back. When he landed, his Ark's effects wore off and the giantess began to fall to the ground. Tails saw his opportunity and ran under it.

"Tails, what are you…?!" Rouge called out to stop him but the young fox was already prepared and fired an orange laser straight up into the clone's back, blasting it up into the air. After Tails ceased firing, the clone was gone. Suddenly, it's trophy smacked into the ground. It had returned to its regular size before turning back into pink spheres that floated away.

"Phew, thank goodness that's over!" Tails sighed. With a nod, Jet picked up his gear and began to leave. Rouge noticed this and quickly dragged him back.

"Hold on there!" she said, with a scowl.

Jet pulled his arm away. "I need to find Storm. If Eggman's captured him…" he started but Rouge interrupted him.

"Then he's probably being held prisoner by the Twilight Army!"

"The what?" Jet asked. Tails and Rouge told Jet the situation. Afterwards, he began to ponder.

"Thanks for telling me that. Now I know what to look for!" he said before turning away.

"Wait!" called out Rouge. "You can help us find Knuckles while you're here."

Jet sniggered. "The red mutt? He's not my problem."

Rouge growled before bopping Jet on the head and dragging off. As Tails followed, the strange sense of déjà vu washed over him.

* * *

The scene shifts to a large stream that led to a waterfall, several minutes afterwards. A large floating red and white platform with Eggman's insignia on it was being operated by some Egg Pawns. They were also guarding Knuckles' trophy, which was being held down by chains. It suddenly shot off the edge of the waterfall and went into the sky. Rouge was running after it.

"Hey, you get back here!" she yelled after it. Tails and Jet caught up, both slightly aggravated.

"Great, they got away!" Tails moaned.

"I knew I was gonna regret it" said Jet.

"Well we can't give up!" Rouge told them. "Jet, your gear can take two right?" Jet nodded before realising her idea.

"Fine" he sighed.

"I can think I can take it from here" Rouge said to Tails.

"If you're sure" Tails answered. "I'll head back to the Mystic Ruins so I can work on my plane."

"Plane?" Jet asked, a sudden smirk appearing on his face. "Why go all the way to the Mystic Ruins when you have everything you need here." He then pulled out a small metal box with a red button on it. He pressed it and a giant airship with a bird's face on it appeared.

"Wow, thanks Jet" said Tails.

"No problem, kid" Jet replied, giving him a thumbs up. He then turned to Rouge. "Come on. Let's catch up to that thing. Where's it headed?"

Rouge turned and spotted the platform in the distance. She also saw where it was headed and her eyes widened in shock.

"Angel Island!"


	18. Eggman's Base Part 2

Chapter 18

We return to the elusive site that is Eggman's base. Inside, two Egg Pawns were standing guard outside one of the many doors. This one however had several signs on it saying, 'NO ENTRY', 'FORBIDDEN ROOM' and 'TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT, SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN.' The robots were wielding shotguns and looking back and forth down the corridor. The one on the left followed his partner's gaze down one end of the corridor before looking the other way. It then looked back, only to realise that the other robot was missing. Before it could register what happened, the fellow pawn fell from the ceiling, landing on top of the other robot, destroying them both. They were soon followed by Shade and Emerl.

"That was too easy" Shade stated.

Her Gizoid companion nodded. "I agree. Surely Eggman would have high security in this base."

"Well, let's get this over with and head in there" said Shade. The two opened the door and entered into a dark room. The only light came from some neon blue lights on the ceiling. As the two scanned the room, Shade saw something at the far end. Running up to it, she saw that it was a giant glass tube. Inside it was some black armour with matching boots with silver plating. There was also a helmet that had a strange symbol on it in luminous pink.

"It's my suit!" Shade cried. "Quick, Emerl. Help me out here!"

"We have other problems, Shade!" Emerl responded. The echidna turned to see Emerl backing away from what appeared to be an animated version of the suit, only it had purple smoke surrounding it, like the suit was possessed by a ghost.

"What is that?" Shade gasped. She didn't get an answer as footsteps from behind caught her attention. Turning, she saw another animated suit.

"Two of them?" she exclaimed.

"This must be the reason they took your suit!" Emerl told her. "To clone it and create an army of them."

The two floating suits then drew their own Leech Blades out, forcing Shade and Emerl to do the same.

"I'll take one, you take the other" said Shade. "You ready?" Her reply was the sound of Emerl shoulder barging into one of the Shade copies. She sighed before swinging her foot round but the other clone beat her to the punch, quite literally. Shade reeled from the impact but quickly blocked the following attack. She then lashed out with her foot again before swinging her blade but the Shade copy avoided it.

Emerl seemed to be having an easier time. He punched the floating suit, and then followed up by sweeping his leg on the floor, knocking his opponent over. He then jumped in the air, drew his Leech Blade out and then swung it down. But the fake rolled out of the way, using Emerl's vulnerability to lash out with its own blade. Emerl was struck and began to spark out. Shade noticed this and quickly slammed the palm of her hand into the fake's stomach, causing it to wince. Shade then drove her blade into its head. The ghostly smoke then wisped away before the suit fell apart.

"Weird" she said before running to her friend. She elbowed the remaining clone away before kneeling down next to Emerl.

"Emerl? Are you OK?" she asked.

The Gizoid began to mumble. "Pi squared is equal to the number of inferior life-forms that it takes to make an ice cream."

"Snap out of it!" she cried, smacking him round the face, causing his head to spin. She then noticed the other clone make a dash at her. It jumped into the air but Shade counterattacked by crouching and kicking it behind her. It crashed headfirst into the glass case that held the original suit.

"That should give me some time" she said to herself. She flipped Emerl over and opened up a compartment on his back. There was a tool set inside which Shade pulled out.

"OK, now for the control panel" she said. She flipped opened Emerl's head and began tinkering inside it. "Good thing I studied Gizoid repair." As she fiddled about, Emerl began to make incoherent noises.

"Almost there…" Shade mumbled. She became unaware of the living suit that removed itself from the glass tube.

"That should do it" the echidna cheered. Emerl's eyes suddenly became focused. He pushed himself back up, quickly changing his arm into a gun and shooting the remaining clone in the head.

"Thanks" said Shade.

"You're welcome" Emerl replied. "Now grab the suit and let's get out of here."

Shade reached into the tube and pulled it out. She then turned to Emerl. "Uh, could you look away?"

"Why?" Emerl asked. Shade shook her head in exasperation.

"I need privacy" she explained. Emerl merely shrugged before turning away. As his echidna companion got changed, the door swiftly opened, revealing an army of Egg Pawns.

"Uh, Shade?" he called to her.

"Not now! I'm busy" Shade replied, zipping up her jacket.

"We have company!" Emerl cried, reverting both his arms into guns and shooting at them but the robots kept coming. Shade, having just got back into her suit, ran up next to Emerl.

"How many are there?" she asked.

"Approximately several hundreds" Emerl bluntly replied.

Shade replied sarcastically "Perfect."

The Pawns began to advance on them but suddenly, a gust of wind rushed out from behind them, blowing the army over Shade and Emerl. They stared in amazement as they were reduced to nuts and bolts.

"What did that?" Emerl gasped.

"More like 'who'."

The two turned round to see a silhouette of someone in the doorway. It advanced into the light and the duo could make out who it was. It was a human female wearing a purple cloak with a hood that she wore down. She also had purple hair tied back with a gold bracelet and pointed ears and was carrying a staff with a green sphere on the top.

"Who are you?" Shade asked.

"I'm Merlina the Wizard and I'm here to help" the new figure explained. "Now, quick. Let's get out of here before more of them show up." She immediately left. Shade, slightly sceptical, followed. Emerl was slightly more suspicious.

"Where did she come from?" he thought to himself as he followed his companion.

* * *

The trio soon found themselves in a circular room. Merlina was looking all around the room as Shade advanced forward.

"Which room is this?" she asked.

"I don't know" replied Emerl. "There aren't anyway more doorways either." He turned to Merlina, who seemed to be tapping her staff on the door that they just came through. It then shone for a split second.

"What did you do to the door?" Shade asked.

"I put a sealing spell on it so you can't escape" she said, rather menacingly.

Shade suddenly realised what was going on. "You're with Eggman, aren't you?"

Merlina chuckled. "I'm not affiliated with that buffoon. The Twilight Emperor sent me here because he needed someone to control the situation here on Angel Island."

"We're on Angel Island?" Emerl gasped. "Why would Eggman set up a base here?"

"You won't find out!" Merlina chortled, slamming her staff into the ground. The earth began to shake violently as the floor cracked beneath them before breaking apart. Shade and Emerl fell through the air with Merlina in hot pursuit. She however was using magic to float and she slammed her staff into Shade's stomach, knocking her into the wall. Before the echidna could slide down, the evil wizard slammed into her again. Emerl, who had already landed, glanced up and gasped.

"Get your hands off her!" he yelled. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning zapped Merlina. As she cried in pain, Shade fell down but, thankfully, Emerl was there to catch her.

"Thanks, Emerl" she coughed.

Merlina then crashed behind them. Emerl put Shade down and turned angrily. Merlina herself was pretty annoyed.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I copied your data earlier" Emerl stated. "So, now, I possess your magic abilities." He then formed a fireball in his hand. "So, let's see what you've got!" he said, his tone suddenly dark.

Merlina raised her staff. "I'm an expert in wizardry. You have no hope." She then dashed at the small robot but Emerl flipped over and swung his heel at her head. She had fast reflexes however and blocked the attack with her staff. Emerl then fell back and shot the fireball at her but Merlina blocked the attack with her own fireball. The resulting explosion knocked them both back.

"Not bad for a rookie!" Merlina sneered. "But try this!" She aimed her staff at the Gizoid and launched several beams of light that looked like comets. To her surprise, Emerl raised a slab of earth that took the hits. When the earth was destroyed, Emerl was gone.

"Where did he go?" Merlina asked herself. Suddenly, a mini tornado appeared behind her, revealing Emerl who kicked the wizard in the back. He jumped on her and covered her eyes as he tried grabbing her staff. She was resilient though.

"Get off me, you puppet!" she screamed.

"I'm not a puppet!" Emerl yelled back, grasping even more wildly. As they struggled, Shade managed to recover and saw the scuffle.

"He looks like he needs help" she said to herself. She then pressed a button on her belt which caused her to vanish. Around the same time, Merlina threw Emerl off her and then sent a sphere out of ice from her staff. Emerl tried dodging but it managed to get his left arm. It froze up to his shoulder, rendering it useless.

"I've really lost patience with you!" Merlina snarled. "The Twilight Emperor wanted you and your echidna friend brought to you but I think I'll just…" she stopped when she noticed Shade had vanished.

"What the…?" she gasped. Then Shade appeared in front of her and uppercutted her, causing her lip to bleed.

"You ok?" she asked her friend but Emerl had already created a fireball in his other hand and melted it away. "Never mind."

Merlina managed to recover but she was more livid than ever. "That's it! I'm ending this now!" She then pulled out a black scabbard that suddenly began to glow blue. A pink aura began to surround her as the hair fell loose of the bracelet.

"Not so fast!" Emerl cried, firing the comet spell at her. The bright light seemed to injure more. She covered her eyes to fight against it but this served as a distraction, allowing Emerl to surround himself with a red aura. His hands were then covered with dark magic and he dashed in a straight line at speeds that would make Sonic jealous, straight through Merlina. A second later, streams of darkness came shooting out of her body as she screamed in pain before collapsing.

"Is she dead?" Shade asked.

"Probably, but we don't have time to find out" Emerl stated. He then pointed at a large door with the Eggman insignia on it. They walked through it to be met with bright light from the sun. As their sight adjusted, they could make out ruins of a forgotten temple. They had strange markings on the side that showed echidnas as well as the dragon depictions that Chip had seen.

"Where to next?" Emerl asked. He got his answer when he noticed another building, only it was slightly smaller than the base and was coloured white. They could see Egg Pawns leaving it, dragging Twilight Bombs behind them.

"That's the bomb factory. Now that I have my suit again, destroying it should be easier" stated Shade.

Emerl nodded. "Fine. I'd like to blow up something."

Shade rolled her eyes. "Great, two personalities."

Meanwhile, the scabbard that Merlina was using glowed again, ominously. Then, the wizard's body became enveloped in darkness as her hand began to twitch.


	19. Angel Island

**Read and review**

Chapter 19

Elsewhere on the island, we see an altar that had obviously been there of years, as parts of the foundation were missing. It was covered with weird hieroglyphics which were accompanied by the same dragon pictures that Chip found. On top of said altar was the Master Emerald, only it seemed slightly duller. Suddenly, a small explosion could be heard on the pathway near the altar. The reason for it was a giant grey robot. Unlike the regular Egg Pawns, this was more muscular and was carrying a giant, steel hammer. As it trudged forward, small blue blurs were slamming themselves into it. Sadly, none of them did anything. They flung back to the ground and uncurled, showing that they were tiny blue creatures with yellow orbs floating over their heads and tiny pink wings. These were known as Chao. There were five of them and all of them were with the same person and looking worried.

The person in question was a female echidna like Shade but her dreadlocks were straight down and her fur was a lighter peach. She wore white gloves with blue rings round her wrists. She had white bandages round some of her dreadlocks and a gold tiara on her head. She was also wearing ceremonial garments.

"Oh this isn't good" she said. The Chaos around her began to chirp in panic, forcing the echidna to try and calm them down. As she did this, one of them noticed something and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked, looking where the Chao was pointing. Something was coming towards them at high speeds. Something was riding an Extreme Gear. The echidna gasped as it rushed past her towards the robot.

Her quick glimpse showed her that it was a purple swallow with a white headband and yellow glasses on her head. She also had red sneakers, white gloves and jeans with purple flames on them. She also had flame tattoos on her wrists and two feathers sticking out the back of her head. The swallow jumped into the air, pulled out a wrench and smashed it on the giant robot's head. It keeled over, making a loud, crashing sound. The echidna was gobsmacked as the swallow landed perfectly on her board.

"That was incredible!" the echidna gasped, her Chao also surprised.

The swallow merely shrugged. "It was no big deal really. Say, you haven't seen a big albatross have you?" The echidna shook her head, prompting the swallow to sigh. "Ok, thanks for your help." She was about to walk off when the echidna stopped her.

"Wait, can you tell me what's going on here?" she asked.

The swallow was slightly surprised. "You haven't noticed? Some army of monster's trying to tear up the planet and I think they may have kidnapped my friend."

The echidna jumped back. "Tear up the planet? That's horrible!"

"Ya think?" the swallow asked, sarcastically. "Listen, if you wanna help then let's get a move on!"

The echidna and her Chao got nervous. "What, as in, fight?"

"Duh! We can't win if we don't fight. Now come on!" the swallow told her.

The echidna slowly nodded. "OK, by the way, my name is Tikal."

"I'm Wave. Now let's move!" the swallow said, zooming off on her board with Tikal in pursuit.

* * *

As Wave rushed forward, several Egg Pawns jumped in her way. But they were easily smashed aside by her wrench.

"Lightweights" she smirked, looking back at the wreckage, allowing a couple of Little Rexes to tackle her off her board. She rolled over and flipped back up.

"You little freaks!" she snapped at them, dashing forward and slamming them into the air with her wrench. A small group of Deep Nightmares appeared and made a beeline for the swallow but she smacked the falling Rexes at them, knocking the Deeps over.

"How do ya like that?" she mocked, then pulling out a pack of dynamite that was, bizarrely, already lit. "Now try this!" She threw the bundle of explosives at the Deeps, blowing them up. Tikal, who had just arrived, was once again amazed.

"You fight so expertly" she gasped.

"Of course. You act like you've never been in a fight before" Wave commented.

"I haven't" Tikal told her.

Wave stood there in silence. "Ah. Well, it's time you learned. For starters, those Chao you can use as weapons."

"My Chao are not weapons!" Tikal exclaimed, the creatures themselves chirping angrily.

"OK" Wave retorted, "What if I called them allies in battle?"

Tikal thought about it. "Ok, I suppose" she said, the Chao nodding.

"Right. Next, you need to keep a cool head. You can't win if you just…" Wave stopped when she noticed a group of Nightmares pick up her Extreme Gear. Wave's face contorted into one of rage.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT!!!!!" she screamed, quickly smashing one into the ground. The other Nightmares backed away slightly as she glared at them. "Wanna try again?!" she yelled. Unfortunately for her, one of the beasts acted quickly and wrapped its arms around her. "Hey, get off me!" Wave struggled but the Nightmare had a tight grip.

It looked like it was lights out but fortunately; Tikal had grabbed one of her Chaos, curled it into a ball and lobbed it into the Nightmare holding Wave. As the swallow recovered, the other Nightmares advanced on Tikal.

"Stay back!" Tikal cried out but the monsters didn't listen. Tikal was slightly nervous but she then grabbed another one of her Chaos and cloaked it with a green energy before throwing it. It shot straight through one of the Nightmares, curled round and returned to Tikal after killing another Nightmare.

"Wow, classy kid. Now watch this!" Wave called out before slapping a small red device on one of the creature's heads, smacking it into the air with her wrench and then pulling out a detonator and blowing the airborne monster. Only one was left now, but it was on guard and began to lash out with its arms, forcing Wave and Tikal to go on the defensive.

"How are we supposed to hit this?" Wave groaned.

Tikal replied "I have an idea." She grabbed another one of her Chaos but instead of curling it up, she threw it normally. The Chao dived towards the Nightmare and attached itself to its face. The neon beast grabbed hold of it and tried pulling it off but the small blue creature refused to let go.

"OK, come back Chao!" Tikal called out. The Chao obeyed, leaving Wave to use the Nightmare's moment of distraction to smack it round the face with her wrench. It swung round in a dizzy spell, allowing the swallow to send her steel instrument straight into the monster's back.

"That was impressive" said Tikal.

"You weren't too bad yourself" replied Wave. Suddenly, a whirring sound was heard, making Wave put up her guard. "What's that?!"

One of the Chao's chirped whilst pointing towards the edge of the island. "It appears to be coming from over there" Tikal told her ally.

* * *

In the airspace near the floating island, the platform carrying Knuckles was being followed by Jet on his gear with Rouge riding on the back.

"I take it that this is your stop" said Jet.

"Thanks" the bat replied, jumping off the board and throwing bombs at the Nightmares guarding the trophy, sending them off the edge. Rouge landed on the platform and immediately touched the base of the trophy. There was a bright flash, followed by breaking chains and standing there was a very pissed off Knuckles.

"ARGH! I'm gonna kill that egg headed… Rouge?" he gasped.

"You're welcome" Rouge replied sarcastically. Suddenly, a band of Nightmares and Egg Pawns appeared out of nowhere. The two treasure fighters prepared to fight but the creatures were knocked out of the way by Wave and Tikal who were riding the swallow's board.

"Hey, it's the red mutt!" Wave mocked.

"Watch it you…" Knuckles started to say until he spotted Tikal. "Tikal?! Why aren't you in the Master Emerald?"

"I'll explain later. We've got more company!" the female echidna cried as another group of Deep Nightmares appeared.

"How do they do that?!" Wave asked.

"Who cares?" Rouge replied. "Let's take care of them!"

Knuckles bashed his fists together. "Fine by me! I need to punch something!"

The infuriated echidna jumped forward and quickly uppercutted a Deep straight into the air. As it rose, Rouge swiftly kicked it back to the platform, killing it. The Deeps, having realised that these four were threats, immediately attacked.

Knuckles had a malicious grin on his face as one sent its arm at him. He grabbed it and swung the poor beats round, sending it to Wave who swung her wrench into it, knocking it over the edge.

Rouge was spinning all around the platform knocking a few of the Deeps off the platform before kicking one straight into the air. As it came down, she jabbed her hand up before stepping aside to let it hit the ground.

Tikal seemed to be having trouble as she had been backed to the edge. The Chao were chirping at her as if trying to tell her something but all it did was make her more nervous. Wave noticed this and called out to her.

"Tikal! Cool head!"

After hearing these words, Tikal began to gain confidence. "OK, cool head" she told herself, shutting her eyes to concentrate. The Deeps thought they had her and attacked in unison by charging at her. To their surprise, the five Chao formed a shield in front of her, surrounded in the green energy. The monsters simply bounced off whilst making a twang sound.

"Wow, I sometimes surprise myself!" she said.

The Deeps were trying to recover but Knuckles tackled one to the ground and rapidly pummelled it to oblivion. Meanwhile, one was kicked into the air by Rouge. She then jumped and floated above it and drove her heel down, sending the Deep towards Wave who knocked it back to the bat with her wrench. The two females continued this before Wave slammed it towards another Deep, killing them both. Only one remained.

"Heh, this should be easy" smirked Knuckles until the Deep threw its stretchy arm at him, sending him over the edge.

"Knuckles!" Rouge cried, jumping after him.

"Oh thanks!" Wave groaned, charging at the Deep with her wrench but the monster caught the wrench, forcing them to struggle with one another. "Tikal! A little help here!"

Tikal grabbed a Chao but Wave was in the way so she couldn't hit it. Then an idea came to her. "Just hold on for a bit longer!" She then coated the Chao with energy and threw it… the other way!

As the Chao vanished from sight, Wave screamed, "What good is that?!"

Tikal shushed her as she stood there, patiently. Whilst she did this, Wave was forced to the ground by the Deep. As its face drew closer to hers, the spinning Chao came rocketing from behind the island at high speeds, slamming the Deep in the back with such force, it flew through the air for a minute before falling into the ocean. It was Wave's turn to be awestruck.

"You learn fast" she complimented. Tikal merely grinned as her Chao did some form of dance. Meanwhile, Rouge had lifted Knuckles back onto the platform.

"I suppose I should thank you for saving me twice" he said.

Rouge shrugged. "It was nothing. I only rescued you because I need some challenge when I take my emerald!"

"Really?" the echidna asked sarcastically. The bat didn't reply. An awkward silence passed until Rouge suddenly leaned forward and began kissing Knuckles. Even more surprising was that the echidna didn't resist. Wave and Tikal stood there, constantly looking at each other in awkwardness until a voice was heard.

"Oh get a room, you two!" Jet screeched as he rushed past on his board. He then noticed the swallow. "Wave! Any luck?"

"None" replied Wave.

Jet sighed. "OK, well keep looking. The fox kid and me are gonna check out this comet that's flying around."

"Fox kid? What, ya think he's smarter than me?!" Wave screamed. Jet gulped before flying off. "Hey, you get back here, hawk!"

As Wave yelled after her comrade, Knuckles, who had lipstick on his face, turned to Tikal. "So, why aren't you in the Master Emerald?"

"Chaos noticed that the world was in danger. He didn't know what so he decided to leave and stop whatever's going on" Tikal explained. "I don't know where he went but he told me to stay on the island. Thankfully, Wave turned up to help. Do you think you can tell me who's behind this?"

Knuckles was about to answer until he saw the Chaos laughing at him. Tikal pointed to the echidna's lips to emphasise the point. He quickly rubbed it off, glaring at Rouge slightly, who happened to be blushing.

"Well, according to Eggman, it's the Twilight Emperor" Knuckles told her.

"You mean Dark Gaia?!" Tikal gasped.

"Dark Gaia?" Wave asked. "I thought that was a myth."

"Well, it's clearly not. I don't know why he's acting up but he seems to be the one leading this whole thing" said Knuckles. "All we can do is find more info. Does anyone know what's happening on the island?"

"I've noticed a strange building that has robots going in and out. Maybe there's something in there, including the Master Emerald" Tikal suggested.

Knuckles, with sudden determination, said "Then let's get back to the island!"

"No problem, Knuckles" Rouge spoke up, pointing to a horizontal gap in the side of the island. "This appears to lead into that building. And the platform seems on a set course to it."

"Then it's time to raise the roof!" Knuckles smiled, cracking his namesakes. Rouge and Wave both looked determined but Tikal sighed.

"I'm never gonna get used to this."


	20. Blizzard Peaks and Gigan Rocks

**Sorry for long wait but it's a long chapter. Hurrah!**

Chapter 20

Elsewhere, an airborne battle was occurring above the rocky canyon known as the Gigan Rocks. Despite its rocky environment, it was rich in foreign plant life. This was weird in itself as it was at the base of a giant snowy mountain called Blizzard Peaks. As mentioned before, in the airspace above the peaks, Jet's ship could be seen shooting at the Black Comet which was returning fire itself. Both sides seemed to be in a stalemate but the comet's weapons appeared to be damaging Jet's ship slightly.

Watching this fight were Shadow, the Chaotix, Marine, Shahra and Erazor. The black hedgehog seemed caught up in this, staring intently at the Black Comet.

"There it is" said Erazor, noticing what Shadow was looking at. "Your friend should be in there." Shadow stayed quiet.

"So, it's a rescue mission?" asked Mighty.

"Ooh, I love missions!" cried Charmy, in delight. He was about to shoot upwards when Vector grabbed him.

"Slow down, Charmy" he told the hyperactive bee. "How exactly are we supposed to get up there? You can't carry all of us."

"Plus, my magic carpet isn't large enough" stated Shahra.

"I have an idea!" Marine shouted, causing everyone to look at her. "We could flap our arms really fast until we start flying!"

Everyone fell down, anime style. Erazor seemed the most irritated. "How stupid are you?!"

Marine was taken aback by the outburst and looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh well done, Erazor" Shahra scolded, going up to Marine to comfort her. "You really need to be more calm."

"More calm?!" the evil genie yelled. "How can I be calm when I'm surrounded by a group of thick headed…"

"Oh, will you just SHUT UP!!!" Shadow cried out, startling everyone. "If you're gonna be like this, I'm going up there myself. You guys can stay here and wait." Then, without a second thought, Shadow shot up the mountain.

* * *

As he got higher up, he arrived on a part of the mountain that jutted out, creating a large platform. There was still some plant life but there were traces of snow. The biggest surprise to him though was the two other figures.

One of them was a young rabbit with yellow fur and big eyes. He wore white gloves, an orange dress with a blue bow and orange and yellow shoes. She had a Chao with her which was wearing a red bow. The two seemed to be having a picnic.

"This is great, isn't it Cheese?" the rabbit asked her Chao, which chirped back gleefully as it took a bite out of an apple.

Shadow stood there slightly confused. "Cream?"

The rabbit turned and saw the black hedgehog. "Mr. Shadow? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking that question!" replied Shadow. "Does your mother know you're here?"

Cream nodded. "Yes. Cheese and I decided to come up here to look at the view and have a picnic" she said, rather innocently.

"Well, now you have to go home" Shadow told her sternly. "It's dangerous here. Haven't you seen those neon creatures?"

"You mean those things?" Cream asked, pointing to a glowing, green bee like creature which we'll call a Killer Bee. It rammed straight forward with its stinger aimed at Shadow, who managed to flip over it. The bee then struck into the ground and got its stinger wedged. Shadow threw a Chaos Spear, instantly killing it.

"Exactly" Shadow replied, as several more of the bees appeared. "Cream, take cover!"

The rabbit quickly hid behind a rock as Shadow proceeded to attack. He jumped up towards one bee and kicked upwards, knocking it away. As he came down, another bee came at him but he flipped in mid-air, causing it to miss. He then grabbed its stinger and swung it round to hit another one of the monsters. When he landed, two of the bees both charged at him but he jumped and kicked out at the insects. He then noticed the first bee falling back down and he spun upwards into it, killing it. He then Homing Attacked the remaining two, ending the battle.

"Hah, pathetic. I thought these things would've stepped their game up" Shadow scoffed, unaware of the Nightmare that had snuck up behind him. It was about to attack when Cream came out of nowhere and stomped down on it. Shadow swiped round to see Cream bounce off, leaving the creature quite dazed. She followed this by grabbing Cheese, curling him into a ball and throwing him through the Nightmare, past Shadow and bounce back off another Killer Bee, destroying it, and returning to Cream.

The rabbit giggled slightly at Shadow's stunned expression. "Nice work, Cheese" she told her pet Chao. "So, can I stay a bit longer?"

Shadow was still not sure but then an idea came to him. "You certainly can fight. You wouldn't mind helping me out with something?"

Cream nodded. "What is it?"

* * *

Several minutes later, Cream was carrying Shadow up the mountain as she flapped her ears, allowing her to fly. As they gained altitude, they saw several of dark creatures squirming around the mountain.

"So, these things are invading the world?" Cream asked.

"Exactly. They aim to destroy it and we've got to take out whoever's leading them. But first, I need to get on that comet and save Omega!" Shadow explained.

"Well, I hope we get there soon. It's getting cold" Cream shivered, her breath now visible.

"We appear to be at the very top of the mountain. Land there and get your strength back" said Shadow.

The two landed on the icy peak which had an extra thin peak that rose upwards. Snow was covering the entire place and it was chilly for the young rabbit. Shadow didn't seem affected. He was glancing at the red sky.

"Where did the comet go?" he asked.

"I don't know" Cream answered. "Maybe it left?"

"It couldn't have just left. It was fighting another ship" Shadow told her. Meanwhile, Cheese began to chirp in delight.

"What is it, Cheese?" Cream asked but she got her answer when a puddle of water appeared in front of them. Shadow got into a fighting stance whilst Cream pulled Cheese towards her as something rose out of the puddle.

It was some sort of humanoid water creature with claws and a visible brain and large green eyes. Cream stood there terrified but Shadow seemed to recognise it.

"You're Chaos, the God of Destruction, aren't you?" he asked. The water creature nodded. "Why are you here?"

Chaos took up a fighting pose, causing Shadow to smirk. "Oh really? Fine, I'll take you on."

Cream gulped. "Be careful, Mr. Shadow."

The black hedgehog and water creature stared one another down before Shadow charged forward and threw his fist at Chaos. To his surprise, it went straight through the god's body.

"What in the…?" Shadow started to say but he was cut off when Chaos grabbed him and threw him across the icy ground and into the other peak. Shadow recovered in time to dodge Chaos' attempt to stab him with his claws. Shadow swiped his foot round but that went through Chaos' body as well.

"How the hell am I supposed to hit his thing?" he cried out as Chaos stretched his arm out and punched Shadow in the face, knocking him back. He managed to flip back up but Chaos had vanished, leaving the Ultimate Life Form startled.

"Where did he go?" he growled. With Chaos out of sight, he had no choice but to try and hear him. He concentrated for any sound as time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, Chaos jumped out behind him but Shadow already knew this and swung round with his foot, which connected with Chaos' head, reducing him to droplets.

Shadow smirked. "I've found your weak point now, Chaos. You don't stand a chance."

Suddenly, the water droplets reformed Chaos who shot forward and slammed Shadow into the air. He then threw his claws at him but Shadow twisted to avoid them and threw a Chaos Spear at Chaos' head. The water creature however rolled back to avoid the attack. Shadow then landed and shot forward, his fist pulled back but as he threw a punch, Chaos grabbed his wrist and slammed his claw into the black hedgehog's gut. Shadow recoiled from the hit and was unable to defend himself as Chaos grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the other peak.

"_Any last words?_" Chaos asked, slightly shocking Shadow but in the end, he had the last laugh.

"Yeah. CHAOS SPEAR!!!" Shadow yelled, firing a fully charged Chaos Spear at Chaos' head. The explosion that followed obscured Cream's vision.

"Mr. Shadow?!" she called out. As the smoke settled down, Shadow could be seen standing over Chaos who had been turned into a trophy.

"He was a good opponent" Shadow said to himself. "Maybe a good ally." Without hesitating, Shadow touched the base of the trophy, bringing Chaos back to life.

"_Thank you, Shadow_" said Chaos.

"It's no problem," replied Shadow, "But how are you able to talk?"

"_I'm communicating to you through telepathy_" Chaos explained. "_But I must tell you that the world is in much greater danger than we know. If Dark Gaia is acting up like this..._"

"Dark Gaia? Is he the one who's behind all this?" Shadow asked. Chaos merely nodded. "Then we'll need to hunt him down."

"_Not now, first we must gain more followers. I believe one of them is on the comet_" Chaos told him.

"That's right!" Shadow exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "I need to get up there quickly."

Suddenly, a huge tremor hit the mountain. "What was that?!" squealed Cream.

Chaos glanced up to see the Black Comet descend through the clouds, with Jet's airship tied up to it. It collided into the top-most peak of the mountain, causing an almighty shudder.

"Gotcha!" Shadow sneered as he jumped up the side of the ship with Chaos in pursuit. Cream attempted to follow him but pink spores were already leaking from the comet, creating all kinds of Dark Gaia spawn.

"Oh, this is bad" she gulped. The monsters were already advancing on her and in her panic; she accidentally slipped over the edge. Paralysed with fear, she did nothing as she fell down the mountain.

* * *

Back on solid ground, the remainder of Shadow's group were glancing at the destruction.

"What just happened, mates?" gasped Marine.

"It appears that the Black Comet crashed into the mountain" Erazor surmised.

"That means Shadow should've got on, right?" asked Shahra.

Erazor nodded before noticing something hurtling towards them. "What's that?"

Vector took a look and screamed. "It's Cream!" He immediately rushed forward, holding out his arms. "Don't worry, I've got you!" Unfortunately for him, Cream landed on his head.

"Oops, sorry Mr. Vector" she apologised.

"No problem" the rather dazed crocodile responded. As the two rejoined the group, an army of Nightmares came down the mountain, all prepared to fight.

"Whoa, look at all those monsters" Charmy pointed out.

"How many of them are there?" asked Mighty,

"I don't know and I don't care" Erazor stated, readying his sword. "We must stand and fight."

Everyone seemed to agree and took up fighting poses. Erazor and Shahra swiped with their swords, Marine fired her energy blasts, Cream used her ears and Cheese to keep them at bay, Charmy used his stinger and Mighty and Vector used their fists. But the Nightmares kept coming, backing our heroes up against a rocky wall.

"There's too many, mates" wailed Marine.

"We can't die here!" Shahra said. "Keep fighting!"

As the group struggled, they were unaware of the five figures standing on a rocky ledge, looking down.

"Looks like they need a helping hand" said Mina.

"Heh, these amateurs need a real warrior in their ranks" said Metal.

"Well, let's get down there and help them" said Silver.

"Right behind you" said Chip.

"Ok then," said Sonic, gearing up for the fight. "Sonic Heroes, GO!"

An awkward silence followed. Mina began to snigger as Metal turned to the blue hedgehog.

"Sonic Heroes?" he asked.

"Just get down there and fight" Sonic sighed, zooming down the hill with the other four in pursuit.

Sonic span all the way down the cliff before ramming into the group of Nightmares like bowling pins.

"Sonic!" everyone gasped. He ran back to the group as the other four joined them.

"Well, this is one interesting party" he said before noticing Erazor. "Oh, you with the good guys now?"

"I wish I wasn't but it is necessary" the genie grumbled.

"Fine by me" Sonic said, "Now let's show these freaks what we're made of!" The group split up to take on the army. Chip stayed behind however, his orb beginning to glow.

Charmy and Cream had tag teamed against the Fears. Charmy was zooming through the air, taunting the small creatures whilst Cream booted them away. A group of them made a charge for her but she threw Cheese into the group dispersing them. Another one tried to sneak up on her but Charmy dug his stinger into it.

Erazor and Shahra stood back to back, slashing with their respective swords. However, the Nightmares started to dodge their attacks. The two genies seemed to notice this and, thinking on the same wavelength, hooked their arms, and swung round, leaving the Nightmares off guard as they reduced them to pieces. Another load made a mad dash at them but Erazor summoned a wall of flames that burnt them to cinders.

Vector was punching the many monsters away as they cried to grab him. One managed to wrap its arms round him from behind but he grabbed it and swung it down in front of him before kicking it like a football. He then saw a Deep charge from behind so he swung round and uppercut it into the air. Mighty then appeared out of nowhere, jumped off of Vector's head and brought his fists together down on it. Even though it crashed into the ground, the armadillo finished it off by slamming down on it.

Mina was already summoning vines from the many plants in order to swipe at the creatures. She was in her league here. However, several Killer Bees managed to attack the plants, limiting her powers. Silver noticed this and sent some rocks at them with his telekinesis. He then grabbed the dazed bees and flung them to Mina who sent out her vines to crush them. She then used on of them to flip Silver into the air, allowing him to grab some Fears and fire them down on the other monsters in a rapid motion.

Sonic and Metal were busy ripping their way through the hoard of creatures. Sonic bounced off of them like a pinball while Metal followed up by tearing them to shreds with his claws. However, one Nightmare latched on to him, slowing him down but he grabbed its neck and electrocuted it. Two Deeps then made a charge at him but Sonic was already there to kick them upwards. The duo then went to opposite sides before jumping up diagonally and slicing past the airborne Deeps, leaving an 'X' shape in their wake.

The monsters were now half decimated but more began to appear, including several Titans and Big Mothers.

"Here comes the cavalry" said Vector as the group were backed up against the wall.

"There's no way we can take them all out" gulped Marine.

"She has a point" Erazor agreed. "There's just too many of them."

"Don't worry, guys" said Silver. "We have a plan. Chip, you ready."

"On it, Silver" the pup replied, flying in front of the group, his orb glowing more profusely. The creatures were already hesitating at the sight of it. Suddenly, Chip's orb seemed to explode in a flash of green light which expanded throughout the whole area, killing all the dark creatures. When the light died down, Erazor's group was gobsmacked.

"How did you do that?" asked Mighty.

"Chip here is Light Gaia, the brother of the Twilight Emperor" explained Metal.

"Light Gaia?!" Erazor gasped. "Impossible!"

"It's true" smirked Sonic. "He says that Dark Gaia is being controlled so we've agreed to help him get back to his senses."

"But what can control a god?" asked Shahra.

At the sound of this question, the others noticed that she was right. What kind of being has the power to brainwash a god?

"Anyway, there's nothing we can do for the moment" said Erazor.

"Why's that?" asked Mina.

"In order to get a proper advantage, we need a small army if we're to take on whoever's controlling Dark Gaia" the genie explained. "And right now, our only lead is that comet."

Everyone looked up at the giant rock in shock. "Amy and Blaze are up there!" Sonic cried.

"And so is Mr. Shadow and that Chaos creature" said Cream, her Chao chirping in agreement.

"In that case," said Metal, "We can only hope that they achieve whatever they need up there!"


	21. Black Comet Part 1

Chapter 21

Inside the Black Comet, the many Dark Gaia minions were running around like madmen. Apparently some intruders had managed to get aboard and needed to be taken care of. The neon blue creatures were searching every corner of the comet for them, unaware of the third person onboard. The invisible figure was trying to make his way through, stopping whenever one of the creatures went past.

"Damn, I've gotten lost. And these creatures are running rampant" it whispered to itself. "I need to get the control room or…" He stopped when he heard voices. He leapt round a corner as Shadow and Chaos charged past him.

"_I understand your frustration, Shadow_" said Chaos as they ran past, "_But is killing everything in sight going to help us find your friend?_"

"No," the black hedgehog bluntly replied, "It just makes me feel better." The two carried on before Chaos suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked but Chaos simply tilted his head to the side. Suddenly, he launched his arm out, sending it crashing into the wall. The invisible figure had managed to dodge the attack in time. With nowhere to hide, he revealed himself.

He was a purple chameleon with a coiled tail, white gloves with black gauntlets and purple shoes. He also had a yellow horn.

"Another minion, huh?" the chameleon said. "At least it may stand a chance." The chameleon then pulled out a shuriken before noticing Shadow.

"Shadow? You're here too?" he asked.

"Yes, it's been a while, Espio" Shadow replied. "This is Chaos and we're looking for the control room."

"Hm, this is what some people might call a coincidence" Espio said. "I want to find it too. If we take this comet out, the Twilight Army will suffer a major blow."

"_Then let's hurry_" Chaos told them, looking over Shadow's shoulder. "_We have company_."

The other two looked to see a group of Nightmares charging at them. Shadow smirked as he took a fighting stance. Espio copied this.

"It's been a while since I've fought" he said, readying his shuriken.

"Try not to slow us down" Shadow told him. Espio merely smirked back before throwing the ninja star forward, killing two of the creatures in one shot. Shadow then rocketed forward, sending his fist through another one, followed by a kick to the one behind. Another Nightmare tried smacking him but Chaos leaped over the Ultimate Life Form and brought his claws down on it. He then grabbed Shadow by the wrist and threw him forward. Shadow curled up into a ball, allowing him to smash past another group of Nightmares. But once he uncurled, he was knocked forward by a Dark Wizard. Shadow was about to fight back until he saw two more join it. He didn't want to take chances so he flipped back and landed on a red vine-like thing and grinded down it, making the wizards give chase.

"_Espio! Those creatures are after Shadow!_" Chaos called out to the chameleon.

"We have our own problems!" Espio called back, kicking away a Killer Bee before back flipping to avoid a Dark Eel's bite. Chaos could already sense a multitude of creatures making their way and knew that even he couldn't take them all on. He then noticed that they were standing on a ledge and beneath them was a passageway that stretched on for what seemed ages. He quickly stretched out his arm, grabbed Espio and jumped over the side. As they landed, they immediately ran.

"Thanks" said Espio. "Now what?"

Chaos thought for a while. "_We need to find Shadow. I can trace him so just keep running!_" Espio nodded as he followed the liquid creature, ignoring the several Nightmares that were chasing them.

* * *

Back with Shadow, he was hopping between several red vines as he dodged the wizard's attacks.

"These things just won't quit!" he yelled, jumping to another vine as a wizard threw a purple sphere at him. Shadow then flipped round so he was grinding backwards and fired a Chaos Spear at one of them but they saw it coming and dodged it. Frustrated, Shadow looked back to see that the vine was beginning to end. A plan quickly formed in his head. Facing forward, he crouched so he could pick up speed, before jumping off the end of the vine.

The wizards thought they had him and fired their attacks but Shadow twisted round and threw his own Chaos Spears at them, causing a miniature explosion. Before the creatures knew it, Shadow had dived through the smoke and kicked one to the ground. He then grabbed hold of one and swung it into the other, killing them both. Shadow smiled at his work before realising that he was falling into a black abyss.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he fell. Suddenly, the wall burst open to reveal Chaos and Espio. The two jumped into the air alongside Shadow as more wizards came after them.

"Shadow, follow our lead" Espio told him as he flipped upside down and expertly through several kunai into the wizards. Chaos then threw his fist straight into the opposite wall, creating a hole for them to escape through. He then grabbed Espio and threw him towards another wall. Espio stuck to it and ran along it to reach the hole. Chaos then grabbed Shadow and threw his other claw at the hole, grabbing onto the edge. The two managed to swing into the wall, allowing Chaos to drag them both up.

"Thanks, you two" Shadow said. The three looked forward to see a long canyon, which was swarming with all kinds of creatures. The three warriors weren't fazed one bit.

"Most people would see this as a problem" said Espio.

"_I agree_" answered Chaos, "_But how do we get through?_"

Shadow grinned as he took his rings off. "Just stay by me. This will all be over shortly."

Suddenly, Shadow exploded in a flash of yellow before hurtling forwards with Chaos and Espio running beside him, all of them surrounded in a yellow aura. The various monsters stood their ground but were quickly obliterated by the super fast heroes. Unfortunately for them however, they were going so fast, they shot off the path when they reached a corner and smashed through another wall. This time, the rubble fell from the ceiling, obscuring the hole.

Shadow had managed to come to a stop and put his rings back on as he took a look round the room. There seemed to be nothing in it except a circular door leading out. He then noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Espio?" he asked.

Chaos looked around and he noticed that the chameleon was no longer with them. He did notice something above them. "_Shadow! Up there!_"

Shadow looked up and gasped when he saw two cages holding the trophies of Amy and Blaze.

"What are these two doing here?" Shadow asked his comrade.

"_They were most probably kidnapped in an attempt to divide us_" said Chaos. "_Dark Gaia wouldn't want an army against him._"

Suddenly, several pink spores descended from the ceiling and covered the two females before they floated to the ground and took shape. Now, Amy and Blaze were facing them and glaring evilly with their yellow eyes.

"Pathetic clones" Shadow growled as he took up a battle pose. "Let's destroy them quickly."

Chaos nodded and charged at the fake Amy. It responded quite quickly by swinging its hammer at Chaos' head, reducing him to droplets. He quickly recovered and began to spin rapidly, his arms stretched out. The Amy copy followed suit with its hammer and the two began to clash. After a moment, Chaos stopped and grabbed the clone's arm and swung it past him towards the wall. To his surprise, it managed to push its feet against the wall and jump back to the water creature, striking the hammer down on his head.

"_This creature is much tougher than I thought_" Chaos thought as he recovered from the second hit. "_If only I had the Chaos Emeralds_."

As he thought this, the fake Amy had thrown its hammer at him. Fortunately, he had quick reflexes and caught it. Chaos smirked to himself (somehow) and prepared to attack but the Amy doppelganger rushed forward at surprising speeds. Chaos tried using the hammer to defend himself but the clone flipped over it as he swung it. It then swung its boot round, knocking Chaos to the side as he dropped the hammer.

"_How is this possible?_" Chaos said before the Amy clone smashed the hammer down on him, reducing him to a puddle on the floor.

Meanwhile, Shadow was having just as much trouble. Every punch he threw, the Blaze clone blocked with its own. Shadow tried kicking it but it copied that too. Shadow then jumped back before flipping over the fake but when he turned round to attack, the Blaze copy leaned back to avoid it. It then flipped forward and swung its heel down into Shadow's head, knocking him to the floor.

As he pushed himself up, the evil cat covered its hand with fire and swung it up, slashing Shadow into the air as he was injured by the burns. The fake then jumped above him and swung its heel down, sending Shadow crashing into the floor again. It then faced downwards and spiralled down, encased in fire but Shadow managed to roll back to avoid it.

"This thing's much more powerful than the original" the black hedgehog told himself. "But that doesn't mean it can't be beaten."

He then threw a multitude of Chaos Spears at the fake but to his shock, it curved its body to avoid them. It then shot out two fireballs that Shadow was forced to jump over. But they hit the floor behind him, causing an explosion that knocked him forward. As he sailed through the air, the clone jumped and shot both its feet out into Shadow, sending him hurtling into the wall.

The fake Blaze began to charge at the fallen hero but was sent flying back when something invisible collided with its face. The fake Amy noticed this and a weakened Chaos used this to retreat next to Shadow. The two fakes were now focused on the now revealed Espio.

"Where the hell were you?!" Shadow cried at the chameleon.

"Forming a plan" Espio bluntly replied. As the fakes advanced on them, Shadow noticed several tags dotted around the room. Espio must've placed them there when he was invisible. Suddenly, the chameleon formed some hand signs before the tags blew up around the clones, As the dust cleared, only their trophies remained, which then dissolved into pink spheres.

"_Impressive work_" complimented Chaos.

"Thanks, now let's get them down" said Espio, before throwing some shuriken at the chains that held the real girls. The cages fell down and broke, leaving the trophies unharmed. Shadow and Espio then touched the bases and brought them back to life.

"What the…?" Blaze gasped.

"Where am I?" Amy asked, before noticing her friend. "Blaze! You're OK!"

"Amy? Don't tell me you got kidnapped too?" Blaze responded.

"Ahem!" Shadow said to get their attention. The girls then noticed the three warriors.

"Oh, Shadow! What are you guys doing here?" asked Amy.

"We aim to take out this comet so the Twilight Army can't spread more of those creatures" explained Espio.

"OK, let's go!" said Blaze.

"No," said Shadow. "We're going to head to the control room. You two are staying here. We don't want to be held back!"

"Held back?!" Amy screamed. "Why I ought to…" She never finished her sentence as the three had already left the room, the door spiralling open for them.

"I can't believe they just left us here!" Amy wailed.

Blaze turned to the angry hedgehog and grinned. "Well, just because they told us to stay behind, doesn't mean that we should."

Amy smiled back before the two girls began to follow where Shadow's group went.


	22. Black Comet Part 2

**I've finally updated! Read and review. Also, I'd like to take a moment to dedicate this to Valenor, who sadly passed away recently. Though his brother plans to continue his work, he'll never replace him. Val, I hope you're in a better place now**

Chapter 22

Within the depths of the Black Comet, every kind of creature onboard was running around like mad. With not one, not two but THREE intruders on board, they had to be on high alert. A group of Deep Nightmares were traipsing up one of the many corridors, constantly looking for the intruders. Instead, one of the walls exploded, sending them hurling into the opposite wall. From the smoke emerged Blaze and Amy.

"Couldn't you have been a bit more subtle?" the pink hedgehog asked.

"I don't think that matters anymore" said Blaze. "Not if they already know about Shadow and his comrades."

"Fair enough but what do we do about all this?" Amy asked, pointing at a battalion of Nightmares advancing down the tunnel. Blaze simply smirked and surrounded her hands with flames.

"We smash our way through!" she told her companion and shot off down the corridor at high speed, with Amy close behind. The Nightmares stood their ground, ready to stop the charging cat but Blaze effortlessly clawed straight through them before spinning to create a fiery tornado around her, knocking more of them out of the way. She then uncurled from the spin and continued running but a Dark Wizard appeared above her and was about to attack when Amy jumped into the air and smacked it away with her hammer. By sheer coincidence, the wizard crashing head-first into a Titan that had just appeared. The hulking behemoth lost balance and crashed through another wall.

"Quick, through there!" Blaze shouted at Amy as she jumped forward and kicked away a Killer Bee before jumping off of the Titan and through the gaping hole. Amy followed but the path was then obstructed by Fears but, not one to give up easily, she simply flipped through the air, spinning her hammer vertically so she could plough through the floating monsters. She then ran across the Titan's body as if it were a bridge and joined Blaze.

"That was easy" Amy smiled.

"Yeah," replied Blaze with a frown, "But look where we are now!"

Amy looked and gasped when she realised that they were stuck on a circular platform that was surrounded by a black looking liquid. And to make matters worse, several Deeps emerged from the liquid and surrounded the two girls.

"Oh, this isn't good" the bubble-gum hedgehog wailed.

"Don't worry" said Blaze, a smirk on her face. "This should be easy."

Suddenly, with amazing reflexes, Blaze threw a fireball at one of the creatures, instantly killing it. The Deeps then charged but Amy fended them off with her hammer. One tried attacking from behind but Amy swung round and slammed her hammer down with such force that it not only crushed the Deep but knocked back several others. Amy thought he had it in the bag but then, a battalion of Little Rexes appeared and began biting at her legs.

"What the- Hey, get away!" Amy screamed slamming down her hammer onto them. Some were crushed but more avoided the attack. Amy became enraged and rapidly pummelled randomly at the floor.

Blaze seemed to be having an easier time. The lavender cat had just avoided one of the Deeps attempts at grabbing her and had got hold of its arm. The Deep seemed to gulp as she pulled the monster towards her but moved out of the way, letting it slam into one of its comrades, sending them both off the edge. Another came from behind but Blaze struck it with her elbow before swinging round to roundhouse kick it in the face.

"These things are a pushover" she said to herself, turning to see how Amy was doing. She was still blindly slamming her hammer down at anything that moved. Blaze rolled her eyes at her friend's antics but she then noticed the cracks appearing on the ground… and they were getting bigger.

"Amy! Stop slamming your hammer!" Blaze screamed but Amy wasn't paying attention.

"Take – this – and – that!" she grunted until all the Rexes were destroyed. She wiped her brow in relief. "Thank goodness that's…" she started to say until she heard a cracking sound. Looking down, she saw cracks appear in the platform. "Oops" she muttered. The cracks spread until a spider's web image appeared and the platform started to shake.

"Ah!" Amy screamed. "What are we going to do?!"

Blaze frantically looked around for another way to escape but there was nothing in sight. In desperation, she looked up to see the ceiling of the comet. Then something clicked in her head.

"Amy, give me your hand!" she told the female hedgehog. Amy didn't know what Blaze's plan was but she didn't argue and clasped Blaze's hand. Then, the soles of Blaze's shoes started to glow red.

"Blaze, what are you doing?" Amy asked in a worried tone.

"Trust me" was all Blaze said, before the two shot up, pillars of flames emanating from Blaze's shoes. Amy gasped as this happened, looking down at the platform they were on as it fell apart and sank. Amy felt slightly relieved until she noticed they were headed towards the very top.

"Uh, Blaze. Look out!" she screamed but Blaze ignored her and carried on. Amy shut her eyes as they collided with the ceiling… and shot right through it. Everything was a blur when suddenly they found themselves outside and on top of the comet itself.

"Woah!" Amy gasped. "Nice work, Blaze!"

"It was nothing but that was definitely close" the cat replied, clearly exhausted.

"Well, at least we're safe up here for now" Amy pointed out. As soon as she said that, mini turrets appeared all over the comet, as well as some cannons. The girls squealed in shock as they saw the massive weapons. But fortunately for them, they started firing into the air.

"What are they shooting at?" questioned Blaze.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the airspace around the comet, a blue biplane that looked exactly like the Tornado was weaving through the numerous bullets fired at it. At one point, a stray bullet struck the wing, forcing the pilot to try and regain control of the plane.

"Come on, old girl. Keep it together!" Tails grunted as he managed to barrel roll to avoid a laser beam.

"OK, that's it. Time to bring out the heavy artillery!" the fox exclaimed. "Tornado Transformation!"

Then, with the press of a button, the Tornado's wings split apart to become four and were angled diagonally and looked much sleeker. The back part of the plane moved up slightly, thus allowing Tails' air machine to effortlessly avoid the numerous attacks from the comet.

"Now to take care of those laser cannons!" Tails told himself as he began to descend slightly.

* * *

Back on the comet, Blaze and Amy were running to the back end of the comet in the hopes of escaping the battle they were caught up in. Blaze was far ahead but Amy trailed behind.

"Hey, Blaze" Amy called out, ducking behind one of the cannons to catch her breath. "Slow down, will ya? You know I'm not as fast…"

Her sentence was cut off when Tails fired numerous missiles at the laser cannon, destroying it. However, Amy was hurled forward by the explosion and landed face first into the rocky ground.

Blaze gasped and turned her attention to the plane. "Big mistake, pal!" she growled, forming a fireball in her hand and throwing it up.

Tails was busy congratulating himself to not notice. "Alright, another blow to the Twilight Army and… What the heck?" He saw something hurtling towards him and realised what it was.

"ARGH! Abandon ship!" he wailed as he jumped out of the cockpit in time, leaving his plane to be reduced to wreckage by Blaze's attack. Using his tails to slow his descent, he managed to land perfectly on the comet.

"My plane! My beautiful plane!" he cried out. "She was so young!"

"Tails?"

The two tailed fox looked up to see Amy and Blaze running towards him. "Amy? Blaze? What are you two doing here?"

"We got kidnapped and were being held prisoner here" explained Amy. "Thankfully, Shadow, Espio and that Chaos creature helped us escape."

"And just now," continued Blaze, "Some stupid plane nearly killed us but I blew it right out of the sky."

Tails was stupefied. "That was me! I was trying to take out the comet's defenses!"

"Well, you nearly took US out!" Blaze retorted.

"How was I supposed to know you were there?!" Tails shouted back.

"You must have noticed us, you weren't that high in the air!"

"It's kind of hard to tell with various weapons being shot at me!"

"Will both of you SHUT UP!" screamed Amy. Neither Tails nor Blaze was stupid enough to mess with the rosy hedgehog and immediately went quiet.

"Good, now let's calm down and try to get off this comet" Amy told them.

* * *

As this was going on, Shadow's group had made it through the comet and were now outside the control room.

"This is definitely it?" asked Espio for confirmation.

"This is it alright. Omega is being held in there" Shadow replied.

"_Then let us enter"_ said Chaos. The other two nodded and proceeded through the door. The sight that met their eyes completely bewildered them. Inside were several hulking robots with red and black colouring. They had silver claws with yellow gauntlets round the wrists and two small red eyes poking through what appeared to be the head and they appeared to be piloting the comet.

"Omega?" Shadow gasped.

All the robots turned and faced the threesome. "Greetings Shadow" they said in unison. "Have you come to join the Twilight Army and assist the Twilight Emperor in taking over the world?"

"Hell no!" the black hedgehog yelled. "I'm here to take this comet out and rescue you."

"I now have a new purpose" the many Omegas responded. "I don't need to be saved. But if you plan on fighting my leader, I must destroy you!"

Shadow was still devastated by what happened to his friend, leaving Chaos and Espio to take action.

"He's probably been brainwashed" Espio deduced. "So, let's knock some sense back into him!" He and Chaos then dashed towards the Omega robots.

* * *

**Back on top of the comet…**

"Good, now let's calm down and try to get off this comet" Amy told them.

Suddenly, the floor burst open near them as the robots were thrown through it, leaving them to crash. Shadow, Espio and Chaos jumped through the hole before it closed off.

"I thought we said to stay where you were?" Espio said to the girls.

"Well, we weren't just gonna stand around" huffed Amy.

"Why exactly are you guys here?" Tails asked.

"_We'll explain later"_ said Chaos. _"Right now, we have other matters."_

The others looked over to the Omega robots and gasped as they saw them dissolve into pink spheres. Only one remained.

"Omega? Is that you?" Shadow asked.

"Sha… dow…" the fallen robot stammered. He… lp… me!"

Suddenly, the various spheres from the other robots formed around Omega's body. The robot rose into the air, shrieking in agony which hurt the others' ears (apart from Chaos). They watched in horror as Omega seemed to morph before them. His armour plating turned white, a single red eye appeared in the middle of his head and his whole body seemed to change shape. He also grew in size and where his legs should be instead was a giant grey spiky sphere. The new robot seemed to laugh a metallic laugh as he glared down at the six heroes.

"Who the hell are you?!" Shadow demanded.

"I am ABIS!" the new being roared. "And now that I am back to normal, the world will tremble under my power!"

"We won't let you succeed" Blaze told him, lighting fire in her hands. ABIS merely laughed.

"You vile creatures aren't worthy of my time. Only one may stand against me!" he told them.

"Somebody call for me!"

Everyone looked up and gasped as a green blur landed in front of them. "How's it hanging ABIS?" Jet smirked as he pulled out his bashyo fans, his Extreme Gear tied to his back. ABIS growled in anger.

"Jet the Hawk! You shall pay dearly for ruining my plans!" he snarled.

"Please. If I beat you once I can do it again" Jet smirked back. "Give it your best shot!"

"Very well, take this!"

Suddenly, ABIS let out a flash of light that blinded everybody. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves on some sort of racetrack in space.

"Where are we?" Tails gasped.

"This is where ABIS and I fought last time" Jet answered.

"Correct" said ABIS who appeared in front of them. "Only this time, you shall die!"

ABIS began to float away from them at high speeds. "Hey, get back here!" Jet yelled after him, pulling off his gear and riding forward on it. Shadow, having skates that doubled as Extreme Gear was quick to follow him.

"Come on guys!" Tails said to the others, pulling out his Arm Cannon. "They may need backup!" The other four nodded and charged forward after ABIS.

Jet had managed to catch up to ABIS and tried increasing his speed. But the megalomaniac robot was prepared and shot out a red laser from his jaw, knocking Jet back across the track. Shadow however was right behind the hawk and flipped over him before firing a Chaos Spear at his enemy. Imagine his horror then the attack had no effect.

"What the hell?!" Shadow gasped before ABIS grabbed him with one of his three pronged claws.

"That's the best the Ultimate Life Form can dish out? Pathetic" he scoffed.

"Fine, then try this!" Shadow yelled, as his fur turned red. The Chaos Blast engulfed ABIS' entire hand, forcing him to release the black hedgehog. Shadow managed to roll onto the ground to stop him from crashing. Once he came to a stop, Jet rushed past him again only this time, Amy was riding on the back of Jet's board.

"You ready, pinky?" Jet asked.

Amy nodded before jumping into the air. Jet then pulled out his fans and created a tornado above him which propelled Amy even higher. It wasn't long until she was face to face with ABIS, much to his surprise. Before he could react, Amy began to spin vertically smashing her hammer into his face. The attack seemed to injure the mechanical beast and leave him distracted so that Tails could fly past him and shoot him in the back multiple times.

ABIS however quickly noticed the assault and swung round to grab the two tailed fox.

"You are an irritating creature" he snarled before throwing Tails back down the track. The fox bounced off the ground slightly before crashing into Shadow who was trying to get another shot at ABIS. Blaze however was running towards the giant robot, using her flames to make her run faster. ABIS saw this and slammed his fist down to try and crush her but Blaze dodged the attack and began to run up his arm.

"Get off me, you meddling feline!" he screeched, shaking his arm to try and shake her off but Blaze managed to hang on. ABIS however wasn't going to stop shaking his arm but thankfully, Chaos had reached ABIS and jabbed his claws into the robot's body. This caught ABIS' attention and allowed Blaze to reach his head where she sent a fireball into his head at close range. The explosion knocked her off but she managed to land perfectly whilst ABIS growled in pain.

"You creatures are more trouble and your worth!" he yelled, stretching his arms out sideways as he emitted a circular aura from his mouth.

"What's he doing?" Tails asked as the aura went around them.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say he was…" Blaze started to say until the heroes began to float up into the air.

"What's happening?" Amy shrieked as she floated upside down, forcing her to push her skirt up.

"He's lessened the gravity!" Jet told her. "In other words, we're screwed!"

As the heroes floated upwards, huge slabs of metal floated alongside them. ABIS was too busy laughing to notice this.

"HAHAHA! Once you're all dead, the Twilight Emperor will soon follow!" he cheered with his metallic laugh.

As he hovered there, Chaos noticed that Espio wasn't with them. However, he did see something invisible jumping between the slabs of metal towards ABIS. A plan formed in the water creature's head.

"Any last words?" ABIS asked.

"_I have one query"_ mentioned Chaos. _"If Jet the Hawk did destroy you, how are you alive?"_

"Well, the Twilight Emperor brought me back to life!" ABIS explained. "But he didn't trust me, so he imprisoned me in that pathetic robot's body and split my power by creating those duplicates. But thanks to you, I have risen to power once more and I'll destroy that so called 'god' and take his place!"

"Too bad that won't happen!"

ABIS couldn't help but cry in shock when he saw Espio materialize on one of the slabs. Suddenly, Espio jumped off and used the zero gravity to leap up to ABIS' head before throwing a number of kunai in it. ABIS cried in pain, causing him to lose concentration and drop the heroes.

"Nice work Espio" congratulated Shadow as the chameleon landed next to them. Espio merely nodded back. Their attention was then drawn to ABIS who had just let out a metallic roar.

"That's it!" he shouted with anger in his voice. "Time I ended this for good!" He then raised his claws into the air and formed a giant, metal ball that he threw at the heroes at amazing speed. They all winced as it headed towards them but it then suddenly stopped in midair. Jet had stood forward and used his Ark to make it float into the air. The emerald hawk then began to float up as well.

ABIS stared in horror as the hawk drew his fans. "No. No, no, no!" he wailed.

"Sorry, ABIS. But I'm ending it now and for good this time" Jet smiled as he aimed his Ark forward and cried "GRAVITY DIVE!"

Suddenly, as quick as a flash, Jet shot straight through ABIS with green after-images in his wake. But he wasn't finished and shot through ABIS multiple times in different directions before coming to a stop in front of the hulking robot. Before ABIS could utter his last breath, Jet swung round with his fans and struck him with his fans, leaving an 'X' shape in the air. Before anyone knew what had happened, ABIS exploded whilst screaming in agony, the explosion engulfing everyone.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves back on the comet, with Omega's trophy in front of them.

"Omega!" Shadow gasped, rushing forward and touching the base. Within a second, Omega was up and running. He took a look at his surroundings before turning to Shadow.

"Shadow, I'm sorry. I let myself get captured by the Twilight Army and was forced to pilot it" he said, his head held in disgrace.

"It's ok, my friend" Shadow said. "They'll pay for what they have done!"

"And without the Black Comet, they have no way to distribute more monsters" explained Tails.

"So what do we do now?" asked Jet. "Reduce this thing to rubble?"

"I have a better idea" said Espio. "Why don't we take control of it ourselves?"

"That's a good idea" said Shadow. "Omega? How did you pilot it?"

"I believe that I was installed with Black Arms technology to allow me but I'd prefer it if it was removed from my circuitry" the robot explained.

"No problem" replied Shadow. "Tails can remove it for you. And if it takes Black Arms to pilot this thing, I'll take control. I should also be able to activate the inner defenses to get rid of the remaining Nightmares."

With a plan, the group decided to make their way through the floor back into the control room. As Shadow took control, the red clouds vanished, leaving a clear blue sky. As it soared through the air, Blaze noticed Chaos in a corner by himself.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"_ABIS said that the Twilight Emperor brought him back"_ said Chaos.

"So?" Blaze asked, confused by what Chaos was getting at.

"_Dark Gaia's sole duty is to break the world apart and then let Light Gaia fix it_" explained Chaos. _"So, he shouldn't have any reviving powers of the sort."_

"And this means…" Blaze began, hoping Chaos could finish the sentence. The reply wasn't a good one.

"…_someone else did it."_


	23. Twilight Bomb Factory

**Read and review! Plus, anyone who can find the hidden song reference wins... something**

Chapter 23

The scene opens up to the inside of the Twilight Bomb factory. It seemed pretty desolate, with its many corridors being completely empty. Except for the two figures running through. Alarm sirens rang through Shade's ears as she caught up with Emerl, who was charging down one of the halls.

"You just had to make an announcement didn't you?!" Shade screamed over the blaring of the sirens and the bullets being fired from the Egg Pawns that chased them.

"Hey, one of them swore at me!" Emerl yelled back.

"It didn't see you until you ripped its head off!" retaliated Shade, ducking her head to avoid another bullet.

"Oh, I'm getting sick of this!" the Gizoid groaned. Suddenly, with astounding grace, he flipped forwards through the air, adjusted himself so he was facing backwards and threw out his palm, sending out a forceful gale that blew the robots back down the corridor, smashing into the walls and each other. Emerl then managed to land perfectly and continue running.

Shade grinned at her partner's antics. "Impressive" she complimented before looking ahead and seeing the dead end that was getting closer. "But what do you do with that?"

"Simple" Emerl sneered, a fireball already appearing in his hand.

* * *

In an unknown room, one of the walls exploded, sending debris everywhere. Through the smoke and fire, the echidna and Gizoid duo leapt forward and skidded across the floor.

"That was… what's the word… awesome?" Shade said with uncertainty.

"I do try" Emerl said.

"Ahem."

The two swung round and were astounded by what they saw. It was a huge battalion of Egg Pawns and behind them, an array of Twilight Bombs. And in front of all of this, was the mastermind behind it all. The Ancient Minister!

"You! You're the leader, aren't you?" Shade demanded, drawing her Leech Blade out.

The green robed figure said nothing.

"Doesn't matter" said Emerl, lighting crackling from his fingertips. "He's clearly aligned with them so let's destroy him!"

The Ancient Minister lowered his head. "Fine. Do it. I deserve it."

Upon hearing this, Shade became curious. "What? You're just going to let us?"

"Yes, I have caused so much suffering to this world and to my brothers" the minister told her. "It's best if you finished me off now."

Shade was now slight confused. Isn't he the one behind all this? And what did he mean by brothers? Her thoughts were cut off when a banging sound became audible.

"What's that?" Emerl asked, scanning the area from where the noise was coming from. Suddenly, the ceiling above them caved in and four figures landed behind them. It was Knuckles, Rouge, Wave and Tikal, the latter tripping when she landed.

"Shade, why am I not surprised you're here?" Knuckles grinned.

"It's been a while" replied Shade.

Rouge looked towards Emerl, who was scanning the new arrivals. "And the Gizoid's here too" she said.

Wave then stepped forward and pointed her wrench at the Ancient Minister. "Once we've got the reunions out of the way, let's reduce these things to scrap!"

The minister said nothing, merely looking down in sorrow. Tikal seemed to notice this.

"Guys, he seems sad" she said, her Chao chirping in agreement. Suddenly, a new voice echoed through the room.

"Sad? Ha! He has no feelings!"

The minister swung round and saw a giant red hologram of a certain demonic creature. Knuckles and Rouge took fighting poses.

"Mephiles!" they both growled.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" the time demon chuckled. "But as much as I'd love to chat, I have orders to carry out. Egg Pawns!"

The orange robots turned to face Mephiles. "Activate all the bombs!" he ordered.

"All of them?!" Knuckles exclaimed. He was about to rush forward but to his surprise, the Ancient Minister dashed through the battalion and stood in front of them.

"Stop!" he cried out. The Egg Pawns stopped and stared at their leader. "You don't have to obey him! You may be robots but you have free will! You can do whatever you want with your lives! So stop this madness, please!"

The robots seemed puzzled by this but the silence was broken by Mephiles laughing.

"You fool! They're machines! They don't possess feelings or free will! They're mere pawns!" he roared before pulling out a control box and pressing a button on it. Suddenly, the pawns' eyes turned red and they surged forward, preparing to detonate the bombs.

"No!" the minister cried, slamming the robots away. "Resist it! Don't listen to him!"

Mephiles began to get impatient. "I should've known you'd turn against us sooner or later. Well, you know what happens to traitors!" With another press of the button, the robots turned to the minister, drew their weapons and began to shoot him. Knuckles and the others just stared in horror as the traitor began to burn in front of them.

"You heartless creature!" Tikal screamed as the pawns activated the many bombs.

"Thanks for the compliment!" Mephiles sneered. "Now you shall perish along with this pathetic island, as well as the Master Emerald! Dark Gaia will certainly be pleased!"

With gritted teeth, the six heroes disbanded and made attempts to stop the bombs. Knuckles grabbed hold of one of the robots and tried pulling it off but to no avail.

Wave smacked away any robots attempting to activate more but there were too many to keep up with.

Shade attempted using her Leech Blade to drain the robots of their energy but that didn't seem to do anything either.

Rouge tried kicking one of the pawns but that was all in vain too.

"Pathetic" Mephiles sighed, shaking his head. "I may as well leave now. Good luck, heroes!"

With a wave of his hand, the hologram vanished and in its place, a multitude of Killer Bees appeared.

"Guys, we have company!" Emerl cried, readying his fists. The others regrouped and stood their ground, ready to fight. Unknown to them, the Ancient Minister was still alive and he stared at what was occurring.

"What have I done?" he said to himself. Suddenly, his eyes began to glow green before the right side of his cloak burst open to reveal a gun that shot down every one of the bees.

"What the hell?" gasped Rouge. Before the group could take what happened in, the entire cloak exploded, revealing the minister's true identity.

The robot's head was yellow and looked a lot like Omega's. Its body was red with a white stripe going down the middle. While the gun acted as its right hand, the left hand was black and attacked to a black shoulder pad. Its legs were rather spindly and had black feet, like Omega's. It also had some kind of mud flap under the body and a searchlight on the left side of the body. There was also a disc floating behind it. There was also a Greek symbol on the body, along with the letter 'E', followed by '102'.

"Who are you?" asked Tikal.

The robot turned to face them. "I am E-102 Gamma!" he proclaimed, "And I must make up for what I did by assisting you in defeating Dark Gaia."

"That's great and all" began Wave, "But we still have these guys to deal with!"

Everyone looked to see an army of Nightmares and Deeps appear. Gamma cocked his gun. "Odds of victory are high. Mephiles should know better!" Suddenly, the disc shot out blue flames that allowed Gamma to begin floating before he shot forward to fight. The others looked at each other, nodded and set off to help their new comrade.

Gamma hovered over the swarm of monsters and began to shoot at them. He had great marksmanship and was able to deal several headshots to the creatures. Unfortunately for him, a Dark Eel appeared and fired a purple energy orb at him. The attack caused the robot to lose control and fall back down. Thankfully, Rouge managed to catch him.

"Woah, you could really lose some weight!" Rouge grunted.

"As a robot, I find it illogical for such an occurrence to happen" Gamma replied.

The bat rolled her eyes as she sighed, "Just like Omega." She then remembered where she was when the eel tried attacking again but she dodged the orb and placed Gamma back on the ground. She then charged forward and roundhouse kicked the eel, before placing a bomb on its head. She then flipped back as it exploded, taking out a few surrounding enemies.

Emerl was dashing through the monsters, slicing them apart with his Leech Blade until he came across a Deep that tried attacking him. The Gizoid avoided the attack by jumping above it before imitating Rouge's Drill Kick and destroying his opponent.

"Ha, I could've done that with my eyes closed" Emerl scoffed before a Titan came out of nowhere and slammed him away with its club. Emerl skidded across the ground and was able to grab hold of the club when the Titan tried crushing him with it. Thanks to the strength he copied off Knuckles, he was able to keep it at bay but the monster began putting more pressure on it. It was nearly lights out for him until several blue objects began smacking the Titan away. Emerl tilted his head to see Tikal grabbing her Chao and lobbing them at the hulking beast.

"Oh yeah, that's gonna help!" Emerl yelled sarcastically.

"No need to get rude" Tikal replied bluntly, catching the Chao and throwing them again. Even though there were only five, the fact Tikal kept throwing them back was making the Titan begin to recoil from the hits. Once it had staggered away from Emerl, Tikal halted the assault.

"Quick Wave, now!" Tikal yelled. The purple swallow then jumped up over the echidna and smashed her wrench in the Titan's face. The beats staggered back again, clutching its head in pain. Smirking, Wave pulled out a pack of dynamite and threw it into the air. She then reeled back her wrench like a baseball bat before striking it and sending it into the Titan, the explosion killing it. To add to the effect, it crushed several creatures on its way down.

"Looks like I got a home-run" Wave quipped, causing Emerl to sweat drop slightly.

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Shade found themselves facing off against a horde of Dark Wizards that were floating high in the air. The two echidnas merely looked at each other, knowing what to do. Knuckles grabbed his team mate's arm before throwing her up. Shade managed to land on one of the wizard's, striking it with her Leech Blade. As it died, she jumped off and landed on another one and repeated the process, the blade leaving a slight trail of purple. She continued this until nearly all the wizards were gone. For the last one, she jumped and swung her heel down on it, sending it crashing into a Nightmare that was unaware of what was happening. The neon blue creature was slightly dazed but Knuckles rushed forward and punched it with all his might, sending it crashing into more of its kind until they all were flattened against the back wall.

"Ha, pathetic" Shade scoffed, having noticed that all the monsters were dead. Knuckles said nothing, rushing towards a nearby pawn and attempting to pull it off the bomb.

"Stupid… piece of… junk!" he grunted. As he continued this, Gamma stared at two other pawns. Everything around him was just mumbling as he focused on the two.

"Please forgive me" he said, quietly.

Surprisingly, the pawns spoke back. "Don't blame yourself" one said.

The other one said "Please, get off this island and stop Mephiles."

Gamma nodded. He was about to reply back until Rouge shrieked at him.

"Hey, Gamma! Get a hold of yourself and let's get out of here!" she yelled.

"We can't leave!" Knuckles retorted. "I'm not going to let my home get destroyed! Nor the Master Emerald!"

"Knuckles, please," Tikal pleaded. "There's nothing we can do! We have to go!"

The red echidna clenched his fists in anger before nodding. "Fine, but what do we do?"

Wave was busy thinking to herself when an idea popped into her head. "I've got it! Everyone, follow me!" She turned round and ran through the hole that Shade and Emerl made. The others were unsure of what she had planned but with no other options, they took off. Both Knuckles and Gamma took one last look at the ticking bombs before leaving.

* * *

The group of seven soon arrived at a docking station where the giant platform that was carrying Knuckles floated. Wave jumped onboard and began to punch the keyboard that operated it. "Quick, jump on."

The others followed suit as Wave prepared the platform. It made a whirring sound as it rose slightly and shot off down a steel tunnel. As they rocketed forward, Emerl sighed in relief.

"Phew, that was close" he said.

Shade nodded in agreement. "Indeed. We should be out of here with minutes to spare."

"Yeah, nothing can stop us now!" Rouge cheered. She then noticed Tikal's worried expression, her Chao shaking in fear slightly. "What's wrong?"

"Well, call me paranoid, but isn't it normal for something bad to happen just as we make our escape?" she asked.

The others looked at each other nervously until Gamma broke the silence. "Odds are 5% maximum."

"The odds of something happening?" asked Knuckles.

Gamma simply turned round and cocked his gun. "Negative. The odds of us surviving what happens next!"

The others looked behind them from where they were escaping from and saw something advancing towards them. A figure that Shade and Emerl found familiar.

"MERLINA!!!" they cried as the evil wizard approached them. Her garments had changed to a darker purple, her hair had fallen back and her eyes were a creepy looking yellow.

"You fools think you can escape? Think again!" she cried as a bright red flash enveloped her. When it died down, the heroes were faced against a giant, blue monstrosity that carried four giant berserker swords. It looked like it was wearing a crown and in the centre of it was a giant red eye that housed the Dark Queen herself.

"Well, we're boned" Emerl gulped.

"We can't give up now!" Wave shouted. "You guys keep her off my back while I try and get us out of here!"

"I'll have this witch begging for mercy!" Knuckles sneered before jumping forward towards the monster. But it was quicker than he thought and swiped him away with one of its swords. The hot-headed echidna crashed back into the platform, causing it to shake.

"Watch it!" Wave yelled. "If this thing takes too much damage, we're done for!"

"Thanks for the advice, pigeon!" Merlina cackled as she slammed a sword into it, sending the remaining six fighters scattered. They all managed to stay on board apart from Tikal who toppled over the edge. Fortunately, her Chao tried grabbing hold of her to keep her up. They wouldn't have lasted long unless Emerl had pulled her back up.

"You OK?" he asked. Tikal nodded, gasping for air because she was so terrified. Emerl turned to face the giant creature with determination in his eyes.

"Alright you, let's see how you like this!" he chuckled darkly, before sending a giant thunderbolt at where Merlina was. The attack did some damage and it stunned her.

"Quick, guys! She's weak!" Emerl told his friends who caught on. Knuckles grabbed Rouge by the hand and spun rapidly before letting her go. As Rouge shot through the air, she performed her Drill Kick and landed it right on Merlina. The eye that protected her cracked slightly, showing that the heroes were doing something.

"You fools! Don't you see what you are doing?" she asked them as the swords spun rapidly, sending out loads of purple orbs at them. Gamma was able to shoo them down and Knuckles tried punching them back, sending them flying into the monster.

"We're trying to save the world!" he replied.

Merlina scoffed. "How exactly? I intend to keep this world going for all eternity, and the Twilight Emperor is going to help me!"

"What?!" Shade gasped. "A world that never ends?"

"Precisely!" the Dark Queen declared, jabbing one of the swords at the echidna. However, Tikal used her Chao to create a barrier for Shade, blocking the sword. The Nocturnus warrior then ran up the arm towards Merlina. The evil wizard tried slamming down on her with one of the other swords but ended up chopping her own arm off as Shade athletically leaped off and struck Merlina with her Leech Blade. More cracks appeared in her casing, causing her to scream in both anger and pain. The force of this knocked Shade back but she landed perfectly on the platform.

"THAT'S IT! I'M ENDING THIS NOW!!!" she roared, the blue creature suddenly turning black.

"Merlina, stop this madness!" Gamma pleaded. "The Twilight Emperor has no intention of keeping this world alive! Besides, you can't prevent death!"

"Watch me!" Merlina snarled, sending an array of purple orbs at the heroes. They moved to fats to be stopped so they hit the platform, causing it to shake slightly. Wave screamed slightly as she nearly fell over.

"This thing's on its last legs!" she bawled. "Take her out, now!"

"You have no hope in defeating me!" Merlina yelled, jabbing her three remaining swords at the group. But to her shock, Tikal grabbed two of her Chao and threw them through the gaps and at her core. The attacks caused the glass-like case to be covered in a spider web of cracks.

"How is this even possible?" she gasped.

"Easy" scoffed Knuckles. "You may have more power but we have something even greater than raw strength. Teamwork!"

"Ugh, you've been hanging out with Sonic too much!" Rouge winced, causing Knuckles to get slight angry.

"Doesn't matter!" Merlina yelled. "I'll end this now!" She raised all her swords at one but before she could strike, Gamma fired his gun straight at the middle of the core. This finally caused it to break apart, leaving Merlina to explode in streaks of red and black.

"ARGH! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?! I JUST WANTED TO KEEP THIS WORLD ETERNAL!!!" she shrieked.

"Like I said, you can't prevent death! You have to live life!" Gamma told her, as the platform shot ahead, leaving her behind.

"Way to go team!" Wave told them. "Now, let's hope we can still escape in time!"

The others were relieved that the fight was over but they couldn't relax yet. The bombs were still ticking. Gamma looked behind him, memories of his fellow robots dying rushing through his mind. Suddenly, his booster became active and he shot off.

"Gamma! Where are you going?!" Emerl cried.

Gamma shot off at high speeds until he found Merlina, who was floating weakly and had reverted back to her normal form. She noticed Gamma and was surprised.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving a life" the robot replied bluntly before grabbing Merlina's arm and taking off after the platform. He managed to catch up and placed Merlina on the ground.

"Why'd you save her?" asked Rouge.

Gamma stared at the bat. "She just wanted to save the world." Suddenly, the group heard an explosion and turned to see a wave of blue headed towards them. Wave immediately pressed random buttons, causing the platform to pick up speed. Everyone clenched their fists as the exit drew nearer.

"Nearly there" murmured Wave as they got closer. Soon, they shot out of the steel hole that was embedded into the side of the island, just as Angel Island was engulfed in a giant blue sphere. Knuckles stared at it sadly.

"Goodbye" he whispered as Wave directed the platform to the nearest bit of land.


	24. Twilight Cage Part 1

**Read and review**

Chapter 24

The scene opens up to the Gigan Rocks where the newly formed Team Sonic stood. The group then heard a massive booming sound and turned to face it to see a giant, blue orb in the middle of the sky.

"Oh no, another Twilight Bomb went off" cried Mina.

Chip stared at it in deep thought. "It's much bigger than all the previous ones. I'd say it was either a larger bomb or loads of them went off at once."

"How could they detonate it in the air though?" questioned Silver.

"They didn't" Metal replied. "That was where Angel Island was!"

"What?!" gasped Sonic. "Then, the Master Emerald… and Knuckles!" Before the group could respond to this, several more noises were heard. Looking up, they saw the Black Comet and Jet's aircraft descend and land in front of them.

"Careful, team" Sonic said, as everyone took up fighting positions, focused on the comet. "Who knows what kind of horrible creature will emerge from there."

"Real flattering, Sonic!" The blue hedgehog looked up to see Shadow standing on top of the comet, along with the rest of his group. Amy and Blaze rushed forward and jumped down to meet him and Silver, who were ecstatic.

"SONIC!!!" Amy squealed as she caught him in another bone-breaking hug.

"Amy… Air!" he gasped before she let go. "I'm glad to see you safe." The pink hedgehog blushed slightly.

Silver and Blaze were busy embracing. "It's been so long" Blaze said, slightly misty-eyed.

"I'm sorry I never wrote" Silver responded. "But I'm relieved to see you safe and sound."

"Ugh, all this emotional stuff is making me sick" groaned Erazor.

"Put a sock in it" replied Shahra.

Espio then stepped forward and was taken aback when a teary Charmy hugged him.

"Espio, you're OK!" he wailed.

"Calm down, Charmy" said Vector. "I knew you could take care of yourself" he said to the chameleon.

"Well, it's good to see you all too. I take it you found Charmy" Espio replied.

Mighty shook his head. "Nope. We had to be rescued by Charmy and his raccoon friend."

Espio was slightly surprised by this. "Nice work, Charmy. You're improving."

Charmy rubbed his head in embarrassment as he chuckled. Suddenly, the mood was interrupted by a whirring sound. Everyone looked up to see a floating platform that was carrying Knuckles' team.

"Hey guys, what's up?" asked Rouge.

"What the hell is this? A hero convention?!" Erazor questioned.

As the platform landed, the team were approached by their friends.

"Knuckles!" called out Tails, who was joined by Sonic. "You're alright!" He then noticed the echidna's glum expression. "What's wrong?"

"The Master Emerald… I failed to protect it. And the island" Knuckles said in a slow tone. "I failed as a guardian."

"Don't put yourself down" said Sonic. "We'll get those guys for what they did!"

Chaos ran up to Tikal, who was tending to her Chao. _"Tikal, I told you to stay in the emerald!" _he said sternly.

"Sorry, but I couldn't stand by and let this happen" the young echidna told him.

Chaos stayed silent but nodded, acknowledging Tikal's wishes.

Jet, meanwhile, approached Wave. "Hey, any luck?"

Wave shook her head, sadly. "Sorry, Jet. No sign of him." The green hawk punched his fist into his hand.

"This Twilight Emperor guy is so gonna pay!" he growled.

"Defeating Dark Gaia will be no easy task" Gamma told him.

"And you are…?" Jet asked.

Gamma hesitated slightly before speaking. "I am… was… the Ancient Minister."

Everyone fell silent as he said those words. Sonic seemed extremely ticked off. "You! This is all your fault!" He advanced forward to reduce him to scrap metal but Tikal stepped forward.

"No Sonic, he helped us. He's on our side" she pleaded. Sonic wasn't sure but Tikal was a good judge of character and backed down.

"OK, so what do we do now?" Sonic asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Emerl. "We go give this Gaia guy a piece of our minds!"

"That isn't a smart move" Tails told him. "From the sound of it, he's extremely powerful. A head-on attack would be ineffective."

"Plus, I think it would do us all a favour to understand the current situation" said Blaze.

Agreeing with this, everyone took it in turns to explain what they knew. After what seemed like ages, Shadow decided to speak.

"So, to summarise, Dark Gaia is being controlled by something and isn't acting right. Thus, the real mastermind brought together a band of villains to assist him and his army. But Black Doom found out and warned Erazor and Ix to flee but didn't give too much information."

Erazor nodded in agreement when Mina spoke. "We found his hideout but it looked like they beat us to him."

"And that Ix bloke got captured too" said Marine.

"That leaves Mephiles, Eggman and Scourge" deduced Vector.

"WRONG!" screamed Charmy, making everyone jump. "Me and Marine handled Scourge."

"Impressive" complimented Shahra. Cream seemed confused still.

"So, there are only two of them? What can they do?" she asked.

"I'll answer that" said Gamma. "Eggman was ordered to build a giant battleship that could fire the same energy that makes up the Twilight Bombs."

"Wait, so if they shot something it would be sucked into the Twilight Cage?" asked Shade.

"Yes," the rebel robot confirmed. "However, it was too big to fit through one of the portals left behind."

"Then we have nothing to worry about" Jet pointed out.

"Incorrect" blurted Omega. "A large enough portal has recently appeared." Everyone immediately knew what he meant. The portal that was where Angel Island once was.

"We are so screwed" gulped Rouge.

"That ship could be here at any moment" Shadow theorised. "We need a plan and fast!"

Wave noticed Tails in deep thought. "What are you thinking about, shorty?"

Tails ignored the swallow's comment and said "Well, I've thought of a plan, but it would take more than our technological skills."

"Then allow me to help."

Merlina had woken up and had approached the group. Shade and Emerl were on edge.

"Why should we trust you?" Emerl questioned, "Especially after you tried to kill us!"

Merlina nodded slowly. "I know, but Gamma saved me and has shown me that I was wrong to try and keep this world eternal. That and it's quite clear that Dark Gaia had no intent to save this world. I doubt I can help you defeat him but I'm willing to help any other way."

The team was silent for a while until Tails spoke. "Ok, you can help. In a big way. Huddle up."

Everyone got together and listened intently to Tails' plan. When he finished, Sonic gave him the thumbs up.

"You've outdone yourself, pal" he said with a thumbs up.

"Thanks" Tails replied, "But we need to start now. That ship could appear soon."

"Alright" said Sonic. "Sonic Heroes, let's get to it!"

There was a long silence before everyone said "Sonic Heroes?!" causing the hedgehog himself to face-palm himself.

* * *

Several minutes later, something began to emerge from the portal that occupied what was once where Angel Island was. It was giant silver, battleship that was covered in turrets and smaller guns. The front was just one, long cannon, which began to glow blue before firing a gigantic blast of dark blue energy at an unknown location. There was a moments silence before a large, blue dome erupted from the target. As it did, laughter occurred from a small platform that was suspended above the ship. And standing there were Mephiles and Eggman. The doctor was the one that was laughing.

"It's a success!" he cheered. "I'm a genius!"

"I have to admit, you did good" said Mephiles. "Those heroes and the traitors will stand no chance."

Suddenly, a beeping sound emanated from the small computer that was placed in front of them. Eggman looked over what it displayed before looking up.

"It appears we have company" he growled. Mephiles looked and saw the Black Comet.

"Shadow must've gained control" he said. "Shoot it out of the air."

Eggman pressed a button and all the turrets came to life before firing at the comet. A couple of the blasts struck the sides, chipping off bits of rock before one blast went straight through it, causing it to explode.

"Hahahahaha!" Eggman cackled. "We did it! It's all over!"

"Not by a long shot!" a voice shouted. The two villains strained their heads forward to see 25 figures shooting towards them. The heroes were all riding Extreme Gear, apart from Gamma and Omega who were using their boosters, and Chip who rode with Silver. Eggman went into a tantrum.

"Why won't they die?!" he wailed.

Mephiles simply stepped forward and pressed a button. Suddenly, every gun on the ship began to fire rapid blasts at the heroes.

"Get ready team!" Sonic cried as they shot forward, dodging the many blasts. One was about to hit Tikal but a green aura deflected it.

"What's going on?" Eggman asked.

Mephiles merely scowled. "Light Gaia must be protecting them" he explained. "But I want to know how they managed to build so many Extreme Gear."

Eggman tapped some buttons and glanced at the screen before reeling back in surprise. "Those things aren't normal. They're magic-enhanced!"

"What?!" cried Mephiles before shaking his fist. "Merlina! She must have betrayed us too!"

As if things were bad enough, they failed to notice a blue blur coming from above.

"Alright," said Metal as he zoomed through the air, his hand crackling in electricity, "Time to end this! METAL SURGE!"

With those words, the robot hedgehog shot through the main cannon and before either of the villains could react, the ship began to explode. The two were forced to shield their eyes.

"Curse those heroes!" Eggman yelled. Mephiles said nothing; he just walked through the blue portal, anger in his eyes. Eggman noticed his comrade leaving and followed suit; just before the platform they were on collapsed.

Metal, satisfied by his victory, headed through the portal. The rest began to follow him.

"Here we go, guys!" Sonic called out. "Time to get this party started!" The heroes nodded and followed their self-appointed leader, with poor Tikal bringing up the rear, her Chao trying to help her keep balance.

* * *

Before the heroes knew it, they found themselves in an abyss of dark blue. The younger heroes quivered in fear.

"Here we are" said Shade. "You call it the Twilight Realm, but we called it the Twilight Cage."

"Somewhere, in here, is Dark Gaia" said Gamma.

"What do we do when he find him?" asked a very nervous Amy.

"I'll try and talk to him" said Chip. "But should that fail, I'll handle him."

"OK, then" said Silver. "But where do we go?"

"I remember where we always met up with Dark Gaia" said Erazor. "I'll lead us there."

Everyone agreed and followed the purple genie, mentally preparing themselves for the fight that lay ahead.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mephiles and Eggman were advancing along a large cliff edge that appeared to be made up of purple rock. There were also remains of numerous statues that seemed to resemble echidnas. Whilst the doctor was marching swiftly forward, Mephiles seemed to walk slowly.

"What's keeping you, Mephiles?" Eggman asked, turning towards his ally. "We must warn Dark Gaia about our hero infestation!"

"Oh, I have every intention to let him know" the time demon smirked, suddenly pulling out a Dark Cannon and aiming it at Eggman. The doctor was taken aback momentarily before scowling at him.

"You traitor" he growled.

Mephiles chuckled. "You're too kind, Ivo. I never planned to obey him. Instead, I'm gonna have our problems destroy Dark Gaia and then I'll absorb his power to become the Twilight Emperor! But first…" And with those words, the black arrow impaled Eggman and left him as a trophy. Mephiles then kicked the trophy behind one of the ruined statues before making his way towards the cliff edge. He stood there for a while and was about to speak when…

"Mephiles!"

The heroes ran forward and confronted the demon who turned to face them. He had an evil smile in his eyes.

"So, we finally come face to face once more" he cackled.

"Can the speech, Mephiles" said Shadow. "We're here to put an end to your plan and free Dark Gaia!"

"Free? Free him from what?" Mephiles questioned. "Actually, I don't care. But I think you can deal with him yourselves! Oh, Dark Gaia!"

Suddenly, the cliff edge shook rapidly as a deep roar filled the air. Then, the heroes all gasped as Dark Gaia himself appeared, looking down on them with his purple eyes.

"Here they are, my lord! The vermin are yours for the taking, and then, the world will be ours!" Mephiles cried in triumph. The heroes prepared themselves for a fight when Dark Gaia growled softly.

"You hear that!" Mephiles gloated. "He said that…" he began but his eyes widened suddenly. "Wait, what do you mean?!" he asked. The dragon-like creature growled again. "What do you mean my usefulness has expired?! I've been loyal to you!"

Suddenly, Dark Gaia began to charge up purple energy in his mouth. Mephiles stepped back when he saw this. "No… no… YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!!!" were his last words before Dark Gaia blasted him with the energy blast. The heroes ducked as Mephiles' trophy was tossed over them. They then faced the god as he let out an almighty roar.

Chip floated up to his brother. "Dark, stop! You have to fight it!" The other Gaia roared at his brother, causing Chip to growl. "Then I have no choice!" His necklace began to glow before it engulfed him in a green light.

"Chip!" Silver called out as he and the others were blinded by the light. "Chip, are you ok?"

"No, not Chip" was the response. As the heroes regained their sight they saw a second Dark Gaia, only this one had eight angel wings and pure white scales. "I am Light Gaia!"

The newly transformed god then turned to face his brother. "In the name of this world and the Highest One himself, I will free you!"

Dark Gaia simply roared as he advanced forward and slashed Light Gaia across the face. Light responded by smacking his brother away with his head, away from the cliff side before charging forward with an almighty roar. The heroes rushed forward to watch the battle take place.

"I can't believe I'm actually watching two gods battle!" exclaimed Marine.

"I can't believe that small dog was actually _him_!" Erazor admitted.

"Go on, Light!" cheered Silver. "Give him what for!"

The two entities were exchanging blows but neither backed down. Then, Dark managed to avoid a slash from Light and grappled his twin so that he couldn't move. He then began to bite his brother, causing gold blood to escape from Light.

"Light's in trouble!" gasped Shahra.

"We have to save him!" Silver cried.

"_We can't interfere with a battle between gods, let alone brothers_!" Chaos told him.

"But there's no shame in giving him a helping hand is there?" Sonic smirked. "I might just have an idea."

Back with the Gaia brothers, Dark had thrown Light away from him so that Dark had his back to the cliff edge. He then shot out numerous purple tendrils at his brother, each one throwing Light further back. He seemed to be on the cusp of defeat. Dark let out another roar which Light understood.

"I will not give up! Not until I've freed you from whatever has corrupted you!" he yelled in response. He then began to charge up a white laser in his mouth, which Dark imitated only with a purple one. The two then fired at the same time, the laser's pushing against one another. They were in a stalemate until both dragons heard a whistling sound. Their eyes looked up to see Tails holding Sonic, Rouge holding Knuckles and Cream holding Amy.

"Looks like you need a hand" Sonic smirked. "Operation: Bounce is a go!"

"Stop, please" begged Rouge before chucking Knuckles down, who span like a drill into the left hand side of Dark's face. As he came off, Rouge swooped down and grabbed him before taking off to the cliff.

Cream then did the same with Amy except she slammed her hammer down into the right side of his face. The two attacks seemed to disorientate the beast, leaving Tails open to chuck Sonic down, who bounced right in the centre with such force, he knocked Dark back, causing him to lose his laser and get hit by Light's. The attack sent Dark flying back and crashing into the cliff side. Fortunately, everyone else managed to avoid being crushed under the god's weight. The heroes couldn't help but cheer at the sight.

"Yeah, we showed him!" Sonic cheered.

"Correction. Light Gaia showed him!" Omega responded, causing the blue hero to pout. Light meanwhile approached his fallen brother.

"Dark?" he asked, worriedly. Dark merely whimpered in pain. He then opened his eyes and glanced upwards. Everyone followed his gaze and gasped at what they saw. Something was floating in the air, something inhuman. It was silver and had two huge arms and a bird-like head that had a green glow. It also had a symbol on its back that resembled the sun. Light seemed horrified by it.

"I remember now!" he gasped. "There was another reason to constantly destroy and rebuild this world."

"Which was?" asked Cream, in a worried tone.

"To keep _him _locked up!" Light growled. "Solaris!" Light then raised his head fired a white blast at the being now known as Solaris but the creature raised a force field that reflected the attack back at Light, impaling him and making him vanish in a flash of light. All that remained was a trophy of Chip.

"Chip!" Silver gasped, whilst everyone else stared in awe.

"That thing just took out a god in a single blow!" Vector gulped.

Sonic stepped forward and pointed at Solaris. "Listen here! No one rips up the world and gets away with it! So, we are gonna… Hey, what's he doing?"

Everyone looked to see Solaris launch an array of blue lasers at the heroes. Shadow muttered "Damn" before the lasers struck their target. Once the dust cleared, all that remained were the trophies of our heroes. Lifeless, unmoving, dead.

Solaris remained silent as it shrouded itself in spheres that contained areas where bombs had detonated and a flight of stairs appeared leading up to it. Dark Gaia glanced at the sight before him. He sighed and muttered "Forgive me."

* * *

**If you're enjoying this then check out 'Crisis of Ivory' by Dark Maelstrom. It's full of action, plot twists and drama so check it out!**


	25. Twilight Cage Part 2

**Penultimate chapter, ladies and gents. Read and review!**

Chapter 25

All hope seemed to be lost. Sonic the Hedgehog and his fellow heroes had braved into the Twilight Cage to free Dark Gaia, only for them and even Dark Gaia's followers to have been killed by the mysterious yet powerful entity known as Solaris. With no one left to stand up against him, the world was Solaris' for the taking. Or so he thought.

* * *

At the bottom of the pyramid-like structure where the heroes were defeated, stood a chunk of the Black Comet. Within it was a familiar looking room with three familiar figures. The unmoving trophies of Ix and Black Doom, traitors of the Twilight Army, and the albatross, Storm. And resting on the trophies of Ix and Storm were the red badges that Doom placed on them before his death. Suddenly, the badges began to glow red and envelop the two. Once it died down, the two had been revived.

"Oh, my aching head" moaned Storm. "What happened?"

Ix didn't answer. He simply stared at the badge placed on Storm's chest. He took it off and glanced at it, looked at his own badge before taking it off and then shifting his gaze to Black Doom.

"So, this was your plan, was it?" he asked, rhetorically.

Storm sat there with confusion etched on his face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Again, Ix didn't respond. Instead, he made his way to the trophy of the alien leader and touched the base. Doom opened his eyes as he floated upwards, slightly disorientated.

"Doom, are you alright?" the echidna asked.

Doom finally noticed Ix and Storm and his attitude suddenly changed. "Yes! They worked! My experiment was a success!" he cheered.

"Experiment?" Storm repeated.

Once again, he was ignored as Doom looked through a hole in the comet's wall and stared at the darkness that was the Twilight Cage.

"Damn" he muttered. "They've failed. I was afraid of this."

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?!" Storm cried in frustration.

"I have to admit, I'm not following this either" agreed Ix, "You were sketchy on the details when you took off."

Doom looked between the two figures before speaking. "OK, here's what's happening."

"The Gaias have the duty of breaking apart the world and rebuilding it. It's the sole reason why Solaris doesn't break free from the Twilight Cage."

"Solaris?" Ix asked.

"Legends state that Solaris was once as powerful as the Highest One, the being who created this world. However, Solaris planned to destroy everything."

"When you say 'everything', do you mean…" Storm started but Doom interrupted him.

"I do mean everything. This world, that world, past, present, future… everything! But the Highest One became aware of Solaris' plan and sealed him away in the Twilight Cage, giving the Gaias the job of keeping him locked away. Sadly, Solaris escaped."

"But how?" asked Ix.

"Millenniums spent in the Twilight Cage allowed Solaris to study his prison. He eventually discovered that his prison became weaker everytime the world broke was broken apart. It was only recently it became weak enough for him to break out. He tried capturing the Gaias but it seemed Light got away."

"So, Dark Gaia was being controlled" stated Ix.

"Exactly," Doom said. "I had suspected this and hid myself after we took Angel Island. I saw Solaris reveal himself and immediately knew what we were dealing with. So, I escaped, alerted anyone I could, which was only you and Erazor and decided to catch any heroes I could and equip them with my restorative badges."

"And all you managed to get were us two?" asked Ix, slightly annoyed.

"By the time I had you two and Blaze, I was ambushed and killed before I could make anymore badges" the alien told him.

"So, what's happened while we were dead?" asked Storm.

"I'm afraid the heroes have been killed by Solaris, which is what I anticipated" the black alien explained. "It also seems we were dragged into the Twilight Cage by one of their bombs."

"Well, I hope you have a plan" said Ix.

"I do but it's not a nice one" Doom replied, seemingly cringing at the thought.

"What is it?" asked Ix.

Doom took a deep breath before saying "We have to save them."

The ancient echidna shuddered. "Oh god, why?!"

"I'm not fond of it either but unless we want everything in existence wiped out, we have to stop him" Doom told him.

"Well, you two are on your own" said Storm. "I have to go find the boss and Wave."

"I believe that both Jet and Wave were on the list of heroes that needed hunting down" said Doom, "So; it's most likely they've been killed too."

At the sound of this, the lumbering albatross jumped through the hole and ran towards the pyramid structure.

"Don't worry, boss. I'll save you!" he cried as Doom and Ix shared glances before following him.

* * *

The two villains found the albatross at the top of the structure panting for breath.

"Man, there were so many stairs" he said as he gasped for air.

"Well, maybe you should work out more" Ix chuckled. To his surprise, Storm faced him with a look of anger on his face.

"Are you calling me fat?!" he demanded.

Normally, Ix wouldn't be fazed by this threat but something in the bird's eyes told him he shouldn't press further.

"No" he replied, which seemed to satisfy the bird.

"Good, coz I'm not fat, I'm big boned" said Storm.

Black Doom paid no attention as he was staring at something at the far end. A flight of stairs leading up to a group of shining orbs and the fallen Dark Gaia.

"Ix, look" Doom pointed at the god as he floated towards him. "Where are the heroes?" he asked.

Dark growled in a soft tone, which Doom seemed to understand. He turned back to his allies.

"He doesn't seem to know" he told them.

Ix sighed in exasperation. "Great, so now what?"

"Hey, guys!" Storm called out. "Look what I found!"

The two villains turned to see Storm carrying a trophy. "I found this behind one of these pillars" he explained before placing it on the ground. Doom and Ix gasped when they saw it.

"Eggman" they said simultaneously.

"Did Solaris get to him?" asked Ix.

"Let's ask" said Doom, touching the base of the trophy. Once the light died down, Eggman opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the alien leader.

"Black Doom!" he cried before jumping back. "You made a big mistake coming here!"

Doom tried reasoning with the doctor. "Look, I'm not here to fight" he said but Eggman wasn't listening.

"Say that to Dark Gaia once I'm through with you" Eggman yelled, pulling out a small box with a red button on it. He pressed it and a machine seemed to drop from the air.

It looked like his Egg-O-Matic only with two huge legs and a small gun on the front. On the back was a red square with a yellow gun on it. This was the Egg Walker and with surprising grace, Eggman hopped in and readied it for battle.

"If that's the way you want this done, then so be it!" Doom roared. Storm and Ix stood back, seemingly invisible to the two warring villains.

Doom made the first move by launching small meteors at the doctor but the Egg Walker jumped out of the way, firing bullets from the front gun. However, Doom was able to float out of the way in time. He then threw a purple disk at the doctor.

To the alien's surprise, the machine leapt into the air, over the disk and fired missiles from the larger gun. The missiles landed around the alien, the explosions clouding his vision, meaning he was unprepared for the boxing glove that sprung forward and punched in the face.

Eggman chortled as the glove retracted. Doom wasn't amused in the slightest and thrust his hand forward, sending more meteors at the doctor but he shot them out of the air.

"You're losing your touch, Doom" Eggman laughed.

"This fight isn't over yet" Doom growled, vanishing in a flash of light. He reappeared behind Eggman, preparing an attack but the compartment he was sitting in swung round and the boxing glove shot out again, knocking Doom back. Eggman then pressed a series of buttons and the missile launcher fired out a huge blue laser that engulfed the alien leader. Once it died down, Eggman looked forward to see nothing left.

"Strange, he should be a trophy now" he pondered.

"Surprise!"

Eggman was taken by surprise when Doom appeared behind him and launched a barrage of fireballs. Eggman ducked in the walker as it took the fireballs.

The doctor reappeared once the attack was over but was taken aback when he found himself surrounded by four Black Dooms.

"Uh oh" he gulped.

"What's wrong, doctor?" the copies sneered. "You're smart. Which one of us is the real one?"

Eggman didn't have time to answer as the four clones all fired meteors at him. The Egg Walker jumped into the air and manoeuvred itself towards one to crush it but it faded when he landed, leaving him open to being struck by three helpings of fireballs. The machine began to spark and shudder, worrying Eggman.

"No, my precious machine!" he wailed, spinning the walker around and firing missiles at all three Doom clones. Two of them faded but the third one floated out of harms way.

"Time I ended this now! Swift Strike!" Doom cried out, launching the purple disk at Eggman. It slashed straight through the Egg Walker, causing it to explode. Once the dust settled, Eggman's trophy was all that remained.

Doom sighed in relief. "Glad that's over. Now, let's try this again." He then touched the base again and Eggman was back.

"What the… Why did you bring me back?" he asked, confused.

"Because we have bigger issues" said Doom, pointing at Dark Gaia. Eggman gasped at the fallen god.

"How did this happen?" he asked.

"Solaris" the alien replied bluntly.

"Solaris? I thought he was a myth" the doctor said.

"He's very real. And we need the heroes to beat him" Black Doom explained.

"But we don't know where they are" Storm reminded him.

"Maybe we should've taken a better look" said Ix, glancing up. The others looked to see a floating cage that held the trophies of the fallen heroes.

"Brilliant, now…" Doom started to say before firing meteors at it. To his surprise, the attack bounced off.

"How did it not work?" he asked.

"Let me try" said Ix, firing a green orb from his staff. Like Doom's meteor, it had no effect.

"Oh this is great" Eggman growled in frustration. "Solaris must've enforced the cage somehow. We'd need a lot of power to break it."

The four began racking their brains for an idea until Storm saw something in the cage.

"Hey, look!" he called out as he pointed up. The others looked to see a red light erupt from the cage. There was a sound of steel breaking and numerous objects hitting the floor. When the four regained their sight, they saw Metal Sonic standing in front of them, with trophies scattered around him.

"Metal! How did you do that?" Eggman asked.

"I have no idea" the robot replied. He then had a stroke of an idea, reached into his quills and pulled out one of Doom's badges.

"Where did you get that?" asked Doom.

"It fell off Blaze's trophy when Eggman took it from your hideout" Metal explained. "Now, what are you lot doing here and alive?"

"First things first, we have to revive these guys" said Doom. The five spread out and managed to bring everyone back to life. After they had stopped looking surprised and confused (and Storm had stopped hugging Jet), they gathered round as Doom explained the deal with Solaris.

"So, basically, we're gonna take on a god who plans to destroy all existence?" Sonic surmised. "This should be fun!"

"Don't underestimate Solaris, Sonic" Shadow reminded him. "Remember that he managed to take us all out with one hit."

Meanwhile, Chip had approached his brother and was talking to him. He then turned back to the others.

"Is he gonna be ok?" asked Amy.

"He'll survive. But with him weakened, half of my power is gone too. I can't transform into my true form" Chip explained, slightly downcast.

"That's alright" Amy reassured. She then took a glance around. Whey, where are Silver and Blaze?"

They all looked around until they saw them with Mephiles' trophy.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Knuckles, before Blaze touched the base and Mephiles was brought back.

"Ugh, what happened?" he groaned.

"I'll tell you what will happen!" Eggman said through gritted teeth, rolling up his sleeves.

"Calm down, Egghead" said Silver. "This Solaris is obviously powerful and we'll need all the help we can get."

Mephiles glanced at the stairway that led to Solaris and growled. "So, I was being manipulated. No one does that to me and lives!"

As Silver and Blaze explained to Mephiles what was happening, Mina had spotted another trophy.

"Hey guys, we forgot one" she said, touching the base. In a flash of light, the figure was revived who shot out at Doom and punched him to the floor.

"Haha! Take that, you traitor!" Scourge cackled, before Erazor and Ix helped the alien leader up. "Oh and the others are here too. Perfect, the Twilight Emperor is sure to reward me for nailing all of you!"

"Uh, Scourge" Erazor pointed at Dark Gaia. When Scourge noticed, he jumped back.

"What?! You creeps beat him?!" he cried.

"Actually…" And so Scourge was filled in on the situation. "We'd appreciate the help" said Tails.

"Ha! Not likely! I'm not stupid. I'm not risking my life against a god!" he exclaimed before walking off. As he did, Marine stuck his tongue out at him before getting an idea.

"In that case, mate, I guess you won't be wanting Solaris' treasure" she said, grinning.

The emerald green hedgehog stopped before turning round. "Treasure?"

"Yeah," the raccoon replied. "He must have mountains of it if he's a god. But if you still don't wanna help…"

Suddenly, Scourge shot past her and up the stairs. "Well, come on then. We've got a world to save!"

Mephiles rolled his eyes. "Idiot" he muttered.

"Doesn't matter" said Sonic. "We're all together and only teamwork will put an end to Solaris. So, for the sake of everything in existence, let's do it!"

And with that, Sonic and the others made their way up the stairs to put an end to Solaris once and for all.


	26. Twilight Cage Part 3

**Damn, this is long. Read and review please!**

Chapter 26

With all the heroes and villains united, the team made their way up the flight of the stairs into Solaris' lair. As they progressed, they were busy trying to form a plan.

"Solaris is an all powerful god" Tails mumbled as he was deep in thought. "And he took us all out in seconds. So, how do we beat him?"

"I would take him on but without my brother, I only have half of my power" explained Chip.

"I think I have an idea" said Eggman. "If Tails and I combine our technology with the technology of the Nocturnus Tribe, we could create a weapon strong enough to take him out!"

"You can't solve all your problems with technology" Erazor told him. "I say we use magic. Shahra and I are masters of magic, and Emerl still holds Merlina's power."

"But I'm not experienced enough" replied Shahra. "Also, I highly doubt that our magic alone can beat him."

"I've got it!" exclaimed Rouge. "Angel Island got sucked in, right? So, the Master Emerald should be here!"

"Of course" said Ix. "That emerald is one of the powerful artefacts in the world. It must hold the power necessary to destroy that infernal god."

"But how do we know where it is?" asked Tikal.

Chaos went into a deep thought. "_I can feel its power nearby_."

"Maybe that's coz it's right in front of us" Jet said.

The team realised that they were at the top of the flight of the stairs and were on another cliff top. And in front of them was the Master Emerald. Knuckles was the first to approach it.

"Alright! We got it back! Now, let's find Sol…" he started to say but was interrupted by an inhuman roar. Looking up, they saw the almighty god.

"Surprised to see us?" smirked Sonic. "Get him, Knuckles!"

Knuckles nodded as he held the emerald towards Solaris. "Master Emerald! Help us defeat this great evil! I beg of you!" he chanted.

There was a long pause.

"Uh, do the batteries need recharging?" suggested Marine.

Solaris let out another roar as the heroes stared in horror. Their one ray of hope was useless, and the god was getting ready to attack.

"This just bites" sighed Shadow.

"Looks like we've failed" admitted Silver. "There's nothing we can do."

"There must be!" cried Amy. "We can't give in now! Sonic." She turned to the blue hedgehog but even he had the look of defeat.

"No… it can't end like this" she whimpered.

Tikal hugged her Chao, who were just as frightened as she was. Cream turned to Vector who kept her close, along with Charmy and Marine. Everybody else waited for their immanent death. Solaris began to charge his attack…

When a volley of red blasts struck him. The heroes looked up to see a white light floating opposite the god. Solaris fired his lasers at the light, but it dodged them with amazing speed and rammed into the Sun God, sending it plummeting past the heroes and over the cliff edge. A moment passed until a ray of light erupted from where the god once was, leaving nothing.

"What the hell was that?" screamed Scourge. Everyone was just as surprised. They then gasped as the white light landed in front of them. It was a hedgehog with pure white fur and quills that stood up. He wore plain white gloves, and his shoes were half red and half blue. He stared at the team and smirked.

"It appears I arrived just in time" the mysterious hedgehog said.

Sonic approached him and extended his hand. "Thanks for the help, pal. If it weren't for you, we'd be goners."

The hedgehog glanced at the hero's extended hand before chuckling. "I've waited a long time to meet you, Sonic the Hedgehog" he said.

"How do you know my name?" asked Sonic.

"I know every one of you" the hedgehog answered. "And I'm glad to finally meet my new enemies."

"Enemies?" repeated Espio.

"That's right. You see, only one being can rule this world and that one is me, Nazo!" the hedgehog told them.

"So, it's a fight you want?" Sonic said as he got into a fighting stance.

Nazo smirked as he copied Sonic's example. "You're making a big mistake. I was powerful enough to take Solaris out single handily."

"You may want to double check that" said Wave, pointing behind him. The army gasped in horror as they saw Solaris rise up, only this time, his armour was gone and he had several pointed stones that resembled wings and his whole body had a golden glow to it. There was also a red core in the centre of his body.

"Oh, you want more, huh?" chuckled Nazo, shooting towards the reborn god. However, Solaris fired a single blue laser that knocked Nazo to the ground. The evil hedgehog seemed shocked by this.

"What the… He actually hurt me!" he exclaimed.

"He's accessed his second form!" explained Chip. "He's now even more powerful!"

"Great, so now what?" cried Blaze.

Nazo gritted his teeth until he noticed the Master Emerald. "Give me that!" he said, jumping on top of it. He then closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Suddenly, there were seven flashes of light and seven emeralds were floating around him. Red, yellow, green, purple, blue, cyan and white.

"The Chaos Emeralds!" gasped Mighty.

Nazo turned to the heroes, three in particular. "Sonic, Shadow, Silver. It's in your hands now."

The three hedgehogs nodded as the emeralds began to circle them. They then erupted in a flash of light as their fur turned golden and their quills stood up. They had gone Super.

"Ok guys, time we showed Solaris what happens when you mess with us!" cried Sonic, charging at the god with the other two following close behind.

Solaris tried firing lasers at the three but they were too fast and easily avoided them so they could get close. Solaris then sent numerous spiked balls at the group. Sonic was about to be struck by one but Silver grabbed it with his psychic powers and threw it at the god. However, Solaris knocked it back and sent more of them. Shadow was able to destroy a majority of them with his Chaos Spears but the three were still knocked back by the projectiles.

"Damn, this guy is tough!" Shadow growled.

"How are we supposed to hurt him?" asked Silver.

"I don't know" replied Sonic, "But we can't give in!"

He then spun towards his enemy at super speed but Solaris was still able to keep him at bay with numerous lasers. However, as Sonic was knocked back, Shadow flew round Solaris and fired a volley of Chaos Spears at the god. This seemed to damage him as he roared with pain, leaving himself open to Sonic who rammed into him, sending him back. Solaris retaliated by firing the spiked balls again but Silver was able to grab a bunch of them and threw them back. With so many coming at him, Solaris couldn't block them and suffered the full force of the attack.

* * *

Back on the cliff edge, the rest of the heroes were cheering them on.

"Go on, Sonic!" cried Amy. "Give that thing what he deserves!"

"Is she always this loud?" Nazo asked.

"You should see her when she's mad" Cream replied, shuddering at the thought.

As they watched the fight, Omega noticed his sensors picking something up. He turned round to see what it was.

"Alert! Alert!" he wailed, causing everyone else to turn round as a spiked ball smashed the ground, sending them plummeting onto the cold floor below them.

"What was that?" gasped Vector.

Metal looked over to see their attacker land in front of them and gasped. "It's the robot that attacked us at the stadium!"

He was right. The Egg Berserker was standing before them, looking good as new.

"But I thought it was destroyed" said Amy.

"Well, it's back. And it's brought a pet" pointed out Blaze.

From behind the robot appeared the Biolizard, which let out a bloodcurdling roar.

"What the…?" gasped Rouge. "I thought we killed that thing!"

"This doesn't make sense" commented Tails.

Then, behind them appeared the Egg Dragoon and ABIS, forcing the heroes to huddle up. Then, a blue sword struck the ground near them. Looking up, they saw Merlina in her Dark Queen form.

"Merlina! I knew we couldn't trust her" growled Emerl before he was knocked back by a robotic fist which came from Captain Whisker, who was accompanied by Johnny.

"What? How are all these guys alive?" asked Marine.

Eggman looked around and then snapped his fingers. "Solaris must've used the energy of the Twilight Cage to create copies of them."

"So, these aren't the originals?" Shade questioned, to double check. Eggman nodded.

"Well, no worries" said Jet. "We beat these kooks once, we can do it again!"

And with that, the heroes split up to fight their enemies.

* * *

Blaze made a leap for the Egg Berserker but was knocked back by a swing of its hand. This allowed Amy to leap up and smash her hammer into its head. At the same time, Metal shot forward and drove his claw into its centre. The robot took the two hits and shook Amy off before grabbing Metal and start crushing him. However, Mina jumped on its face and started to pummel it. It released Metal and tried to crush the mongoose but she leapt out of harm's way, causing the robot to smack itself in the face. Scourge then charged at the centre and threw a fist that went straight through the robot.

"This could come in handy" he sneered as he made the hole wider. However, the robot grabbed him and threw him to the ground. It raised its foot to crush him but Blaze threw a fireball that knocked it off balance and caused it to crash into the ground. It aimed its spiked ball at the lavender cat and fired it. But Amy stood in the way and with all her strength, swung her hammer like a bat, knocking the ball away. With nothing to defend itself with, the robot was at Metal's mercy as the robot hedgehog landed on it, covered his claw with electricity and sent it through the hole Scourge made. Electricity coursed through the robot before it blew up.

* * *

Knuckles had just punched the Biolizard across the face but the creature retaliated by swinging its head at him, sending him flying. However, Rouge caught him in midair and threw him like a spear at the life-support system. Knuckles spun like a drill as he hit the machine, injuring the monster. Unfortunately, it summoned a horde of pink spheres at forced Knuckles back. Rouge threw several bombs at them but more were created with every explosion. The lizard tried making a lunge for the bat but Eggman had pulled out a black and red gun which he fired at its body. The lizard was unfazed but turned its attention to the doctor.

"Something tells me I shouldn't have done that" Eggman gulped as the Biolizard sent its pink spheres at him. He tried running away but the lizard chased after him. It was about to take a bite out of him but Tails swooped down and grabbed the doctor, lifting him away from the monster's mouth. The fox then dropped Eggman on the life-support system, allowing him to fire his gun at close range. The lizard shook Eggman off as it let out another roar.

"Hey, ugly!" Marine yelled at the monster, firing her green energy orbs at it. The lizard made a lunge for the raccoon, threatening to swallow her whole but Knuckles came to her rescue by holding its jaws open. The red echidna strained to keep it open but fortunately, Tails fired his Energy Cannon down the beast's throat. An explosion erupted from its stomach, leaving it weakened. Rouge then grabbed Marine and flew into the air. She let her go so she could throw her bombs and Marine could fire the energy orbs at the machine on its back. This caused it to blow up and kill the monstrosity.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ix was busy trying to dodge the attacks from Whisker. The robot pirate threw punch after punch but the echidna was surprisingly agile. He then jumped and swung his staff down on the pirate's head, causing him to be dazed. Ix then fired a Doom Orb at close range, sending the robot flying back towards Erazor who grabbed Whisker and threw him down with a thud. He then thrust his blade down to stab Whisker but he grabbed it and threw the genie over him. He then spat fire at Erazor who raised his arms to defend himself. It looked like it was over for him but Vector swung his fists down on the pirate's head and then grabbed his arms and twisted them behind his back, leaving himself open to Shadow, who rapidly punched the robot in the face. Vector then let go but only so Shadow could release a miniature Chaos Blast, which destroyed Whisker.

Shahra was having a much tougher time with Johnny, who was moving too fast for her to keep track. He was zipping past her, striking her with each time. He then charged at her from behind but Mighty grabbed him and swung him away. He was unable to change his directory and Shahra fired a fireball at him, knocking him to the floor. Johnny got back up and made a dash for the ring genie but Shahra was ready and swung her sword, slashing Johnny's left arm off. The robot was distracted by this and Charmy was able to latch on and ride him like a skateboard.

"Woooo! Look at me go!" he cheered before directing Johnny into the ground, causing him to crumple up upon contact.

* * *

Black Doom was floating round the head of the Egg Dragoon, throwing meteors whenever he could. However, the robot was able to block them with its drill before firing an ice ball from its cannon. It collided with and froze the alien leader, sending him plummeting to the ground. Fortunately, Storm caught it and tried breaking the ice. Emerl guarded the albatross by sending tendrils of electric energy at the robot's legs. These didn't seem to have any effect on the machine and it aimed its drill at the Gizoid. Before it could impale him, Chip flew in front of him and surrounded himself with a green orb. The drill connected with it and the Dragoon was flung back. Black Doom was then freed from his icy prison and threw Storm at the falling machine. The albatross noticed the green orb at the bottom and swung his fists down on it. The Dragoon crashed into the ground with a thud and Storm belly flopped on its weak point. Mephiles then gathered an array of purple orbs and sent them at the robot. This combined with Doom's meteors weakened the robot further. As it got back up to try and finish them off, Emerl used the data he copied from it to launch his own ice bomb, freezing it on impact. Storm finished it off by throwing a powerful punch that cracked the ice and broke the robot apart.

* * *

Jet and Wave were charging at ABIS on their respective Gear as the hulking machine fired metal, spiked balls at them. Wave was able to batter them away, giving Jet the opportunity to leap up to ABIS' face and slash him with his fans. He swiped the hawk away with his claw and made a grab for Wave. However, Cream had thrown Shade down at him so the female echidna landed on his back. She then dug her Leech Blade into the robot's body, draining him of his energy. As ABIS got weaker, Wave took the opportunity to smash him across the face with her wrench. ABIS let out a roar that knocked the swallow back but before he could do anything else, Tikal used her Chao to form a barrier that knocked him back, leaving himself open for Jet to jam the metal part of one of his fans into the red orb that represented ABIS' eye. He let out a scream of pain as he shook Jet off. No longer able to protect himself, he was wide open to Shade's Leech Blade, which drained more energy from him. Thoroughly weakened, Cream and Tikal finished him off by throwing one Chao each at his head, knocking him back and destroying him.

* * *

Chaos was having a hard time with Merlina. Since she was in her Dark Queen form, she was much more powerful and even the God of Destruction was finding it difficult to get near her, let alone hit her. He twisted his body in order to dodge the many purple orbs she threw at him. However, at the same time, she was getting ready to attack with one of her swords. Chaos was unaware of this but he was saved when Gamma distracted her by shooting at her arm. She tried slicing him with one of her swords but Gamma avoided it and Espio used the opportunity to run up the arm and stick to the centre where Merlina was held. He placed some explosive tags before jumping off. The explosion not only injured the wizard but it also clouded her vision, meaning she was unable to protect her self from the many missiles fired from Omega. Each one knocked her back further but she quickly recovered and once again began jabbing the ground with her swords. Whilst Omega and Espio dodged them, Gamma hovered into the air, holding Chaos. Merlina noticed this and she swung a sword horizontally but they had anticipated this and Gamma let go of Chaos. The water being then used his arms to latch onto the sword and swing over to Merlina, where he sent an earth-shattering punch into the centre. The dark witch was getting irritated and began firing purple orbs everywhere. The four heroes found themselves surrounded by them and were unable to defend themselves from one of the swords jabs. Thankfully, Nazo arrived in the nick of time to grab it.

"Don't think you're gonna leave me out of this fight" he smirked, evilly. Then, to everyone's horror, he ripped off the arm and swung the sword round, smashing it into Merlina. He then fired several bursts of red energy at her. The onslaught seemed to be never-ending until Nazo finished it off with a powerful Chaos Lance that went straight through her, causing her to explode in a flash of black and purple.

With the clones defeated, the heroes regrouped and collapsed, clearly exhausted.

"Man, that was tough" sighed Mina.

Nazo looked up. "It's still not over." Everyone copied his example and saw that the three super hedgehogs were still duking it out with Solaris.

* * *

Sonic was flying round Solaris, the angered god constantly trying to attack the hedgehog. However, this was a distraction so Shadow could launch a volley of Chaos Spears. Solaris raised his arms to protect himself but Silver was able to use his enhanced powers to hold his arms down, making the god take the hits. The psychic hedgehog was forced to release him though when numerous blue lasers shot out of Solaris in random directions. Silver couldn't protect himself but was saved by Shadow. Sonic, meanwhile, was weaving out of the laser's path before making a dash for the red core. However, Solaris saw this coming and knocked him away with a swing of his arm.

"It looks like he doesn't want us near that core" Sonic deduced.

"That must be his weak point" Shadow theorized.

"But how do we hit it?" asked Silver. "We can't get near him."

Sonic mentally agreed with Silver but an idea formed in his head. "You two keep him busy, I'll be right back." He then took off in a random direction.

"Did he just ditch us?" Silver asked, his companion just as confused.

"I don't know what that idiot's up to, but we've got no other choice" Shadow replied, making a dash for Solaris. The god tried shooting him out of the air with his spiked balls but Shadow destroyed them with his Chaos Spears. He tried getting near the red core but Solaris fired a laser at close range, sending Shadow flying through the air. Fortunately, Silver grabbed his arm, spun round and flung him at Solaris. Shadow curled up into a ball as he struck where Solaris' head would be. The god was slightly dazed but he still managed to grab hold of the two hedgehogs. As he crushed them in his grip, he failed to notice the golden flash of light racing towards him. Shadow, Silver and the rest of the heroes all gasped as Sonic shot forward at the speed of light.

"Take this, Solaris! Super Sonic Spin Attack!" he roared as he rammed into the core. Solaris released his two captors as Sonic carried on, sending Solaris flying through the air. When he stopped, Solaris was flung back but managed to catch himself. The three prepared themselves but to their surprise, Solaris wasn't attacking. Suddenly, it erupted into a flurry of fireworks that blinded the heroes as light overtook them.

* * *

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves on a cliff top looking out towards the sea as the sun was setting. Sonic, Shadow and Silver had returned to normal and everyone was confused.

"What just happened, mates?" Marine asked.

"Solaris has been defeated" Chip told them. "The world has been saved!"

With those words, the heroes erupted into the cheers. Even the villains broke into a smile.

Knuckles, who was making sure the Master Emerald was okay, looked out to see that the orb that held Angel Island was gone.

"Guys, look!" he called out. "Where's the island?"

Chip floated next to him. "All the damage done by the Twilight Bombs has been undone, but I'm afraid your island is gone for good. It suffered too much damage from the bombs."

The echidna seemed to be distraught but before he could say anything, Chaos and Tikal approached him.

"It's okay, Knuckles" said Tikal. "Don't blame yourself."

"_When you think about it, you've been freed from your duty. Now, you can live alongside your friends_" Chaos told him.

A small smile appeared on Knuckles' face. "I guess so" he said. "Thanks guys."

Suddenly, another blue orb appeared in front of them. Dark Gaia appeared from within and growled softly. Chip turned to his friends.

"I have to go now" he said. "I have a duty to uphold."

Silver became slightly teary. "I'm gonna miss ya, pal" he said, pulling Chip into a hug.

"I'll miss you too" the pup replied. "All of you. Thank you." And with that, he vanished into the orb with his brother as it closed off.

"So, now what do we do?" asked Storm.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Eggman. "I'm going to start working on a new evil scheme to conquer the world."

"I think you'll find only I am fit to rule the world" said Nazo. He then turned to Doom, Erazor and Mephiles. "And you three have amazing skills. I could do with some followers."

The three looked among them. "As long as it involves destroying the good guys, that's fine with me" said Mephiles, the other two nodding in agreement.

Shade turned to Ix. "What are you gonna do now?" she asked.

"Well, I'm free of the Twilight Cage, but I've got no followers" the ancient echidna replied. "I'll think of something soon. Just you wait."

"As for me, this whole world conquering business is too much" said Scourge. "I'll stick to stealing treasure. That Master Emerald sure looks expensive."

"Only one of us can have it and that's me" Rouge told him.

"It doesn't belong to either of you!" yelled Knuckles.

Sonic chuckled before turning to Nazo. "Hey, I should warn you. If you're gonna take over the world, you've got us to deal with."

Nazo smiled back. "I'm looking forward to it."

Suddenly, the sun hit the horizon and an 'X' shone across the sky, capturing everyone in its beauty. The band of brave heroes and villains who joined together to save their world. They overcame many hardships, but in the end, they managed to do it. And even though this tale has ended, a new one will soon begin.

* * *

"And that's that" said Sonic, closing the book. Opposite him, lying in a bed, was a blue hedgehog like him, no older than four, with seven dangling quills. His eyes were wide in astonishment.

"Wow, that was amazing!" he squealed. "Read it again! Read it again!"

Sonic chuckled. "Calm down, Stream. Besides, it's late. Time you went to sleep."

"Ok, big bro" Stream said. His head hit the pillow and he shut his eyes as Sonic switched the light off. As he was leaving the room, Stream called out.

"Sonic, what did that story mean?" he asked.

Sonic thought about this for a while before replying "It means that when in dark times, people should put aside their differences, be they good or evil, and do the right thing. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who they are coz they're all heroes."

"Ok, night" Stream said.

"Good night Stream" Sonic said as he shut the door. He took one last look at the book and smiled. "I suppose I could read it again."

**Sonic Brawl: Twilight Emperor**

**The End**


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